Jaishankar’s Pak visit raises peace hopes

Even as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar ruled out the possibility of having bilateral talks with Pakistan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit to be held in the neighbouring country on October 15 and 16, his visit has kindled hopes among activists there about thaw in the relations between the two countries.

The minister’s visit was discussed during a function held today to celebrate the birthday of Imtiaz Rasheed Qureshi, chairman, Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation, organised at Jinnah Lounge of the Lahore High Court Bar by the Lawyers’ Forum Pakistan.

The foundation is fighting a legal battle to prove innocence of Bhagat Singh and naming Shadman Chowk in Lahore as Bhagat Singh Chowk, asserting that it was a part of the jail where the martyr and his comrades were hanged on March 23, 1931.

Speaking at the event, Qureshi welcomed the Indian minister’s scheduled visit. He appealed to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to immediately restore the public-to-public contact for the betterment of both countries.