Time for peace has come, says Pakistan minister

By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Islamabad, July 15 : The time has come for India and Pakistan to overcome their mistrust and make peace, says Pakistani Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira.

"Those of us who have always promoted India-Pakistan friendship are happy that the two countries are again talking," Kaira said, referring to Thursday's talks between India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, who arrived here Wednesday on a three-day visit, and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

"India and Pakistan do have differences on many issues, but there are plenty of grounds on which they can come together," Kaira told visiting Indian journalists at a Wednesday dinner meeting.

"It is time for India and Pakistan to pursue the peace process, to put the peace process back on track," he said. "We are handcuffed by history and chained by future.

"I hope the talks succeed and promote a new culture of peace in the region," he added.

Kaira recalled that he had along with Indian Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande worked for improved India-Pakistan relations since 2004 when the two countries decided to start a composite dialogue process.

That process got derailed after Pakistani terrorists attacked Mumbai in November 2008 killing 166 people.