SRINAGAR:PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, whose party is in talks with the BJP on government formation in Jammu and Kashmir,on Saturday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his cricket diplomacy with Pakistan. “Prime Minister Modi’s phone call to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and the decision to send the Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar to that country is a welcome step towards setting a new agenda for reconciliation between the two countries,” Mufti said in a statement.
Mufti, who will head the coalition government which is expected to come to power in the border state by February 23, said that the steps taken by the Prime Minister, including inviting the Saarc leaders to his swearing-in, had set the right tone for India’s leadership role in the region. However, he said the move to cancel the Secretary-level talks with Pakistan had blunted its potential.
“The resumption of talks and Modi’s telephonic conversation with Sharif have come as a major impetus to the stalled peace process between the two nations,” he said.
He added that the friendship between India and Pakistan was of prime importance for releasing the creative energy from the decades-long atmosphere of hostility, of which Jammu and Kashmir had been the main victim.
For a long time, the PDP has been demanding the resumption of talks with Pakistan. In fact, according to sources, the party had even sought assurance from the Centre in this regard before draf the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) with the BJP to form coalition government in the state.