Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has asserted that warm bilateral relations between India and Pakistan were in the interests of the two countries as well as of the world at large, saying that the desire for peaceful and cordial ties, seen for decades at the people’s level on either side, was now showing itself at the official plane also. Interacting with a group of Hindu pilgrims from Sindh province of Pakistan, who called on him today after paying obeisance at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine at Jammu, the Chief Minister said that the yearning for peaceful and friendly ties between the two countries was always there among the people on both sides. However, he said, the two governments had also realized now that peace in the region and cordial bilateral relations were in the interests of both sides. He said during the past four years the two governments took significant initiatives, promoting the kind of warmth in relations as was never seen before. The Chief Minister of India’s Northern State said that the peace process initiated by the two countries had resulted in closing the mouths of guns and mortars on the border and opening of a new phase of reconciliation and friendship. He said border population on both sides had in particular felt relieved as peace prevailed on Indo-Pak border. The people to people contact leading to exchange of journalists, politicians, pilgrims and students further improved the environment. The atmosphere of mistrust, he said, was replaced by optimism and trust. Mr. Azad hoped that this atmosphere would be further consolidated following the completion of electoral process and installation of a new government in Pakistan. He said the internal situation in the neigbouring country had slowed down the dialogue process which, he anticipated, would be now taken further from where it had been left in February 2007. He said that India wanted cordial and friendly relations with Pakistan and wished its people all the best. The Chief Minister welcomed the pilgrims form Pakistan in Jammu & Kashmir and hoped that the frequency of such visits would be increased in future. He said the level of the two countries coming closer to each other was related with the frequency of visits at the people’s level. He said the arrival of the Pakistani pilgrims in the State was a welcome beginning, adding that he would like to see pilgrims from Pakistan visiting the Amarnath shrine in Kashmir also. ========
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