Pakistanis ‘on one page’ in seeking friendship with India: PM Imran Khan

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ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday (Nov. 28)

Violence in Kashmir routinely triggers tension between the two countries.

In September, India called off a meeting between their foreign ministers to protest against the killing of Indian security personnel in Kashmir.

Khan said both countries stood to gain from better ties.

“We need leaders on both sides of the border who resolve to end this problem and I assure you the problem will be solved,” Khan said.

“Can you imagine how much this would benefit both countries?”

However, it is Pakistan’s military, not its civilian leaders, that has traditionally set policy towards India, and military leaders have invariably been more cautious.

The tourism minister of India’s Punjab state, Navjot Singh Sidhu, was among officials who crossed the border for Wednesday’s inauguration.

“Both the governments should realize that we have to move forward,” Sidhu, a Sikh, said in a speech before Khan spoke.

Next year is the 550th anniversary of the birth of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, in a small village near Lahore.

Thousands of Sikhs from India and beyond every year visit a shrine in the Pakistani village of Kartarpur, where Nanak died.