Respond to PM’s peace gesture, says Mehbooba Mufti

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti, on Wednesday urged Pakistan to respond positively to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s, craving that the two countries should put up a joint front against poverty, disease and illiteracy.

“I welcome the Prime Minister’s assertion that both India and Pakistan should fight the joint enemy of poverty and disease. I hope the leadership of Pakistan will respond positively to this,” Mufti said while speaking in the J&K Legislative Council.

The Prime Minister had on Sunday said that India and Pakistan have fought a lot and both the nations should now come together to fight poverty, diseases and illiteracy. “As far as Pakistan is concerned, I believe, and I have always said that India and Pakistan have fought a lot, we should come together and fight poverty, come together and fight diseases. If we fight together, we will win faster,” he had said in a television interview. Modi had denied that the prime focus of India’s foreign policy was to isolate Pakistan internationally saying “And if you think we are doing so much hard work around the world to isolate one nation, then that is wrong. This is not our work.” Terming it positive signal emanating from New Delhi, Mufti said that both the counters have to live as peaceful neighbours and hoped the leadership in Pakistan would understand that many of their issues like poverty, illiteracy and disease would also get resolved due to friendly ties with India.