Pak says committed to resolving outstanding issues with India

Pakistan on Friday said it is committed to working with India's new government to address the common challenges facing the region and resolving all outstanding issues between the two countries to usher in an era of peace and prosperity for people of the subcontinent.

President Asif Ali Zardari and PM Yousuf Raza Gilani made this commitment in separate messages felicitating Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on their victory in India's general election.

In his message to Gandhi, Zardari said Pakistan remains committed to peace and prosperity in South Asia and will continue to work with India to resolve "all outstanding issues between the two countries peacefully and in a just manner."
     
Gilani, in his message to Singh, said that his government "remains committed to working with the Indian government in addressing the common challenges that beset our region, and the world at large."
     
"I also take this opportunity to reiterate our commitment to resolve peacefully all outstanding issues between the two countries so as to usher in an era of peace, progress and prosperity for the peoples of the subcontinent," he said.
     
The Pakistani leaders congratulated Gandhi and Singh on the Congress party's victory in the recent general election.
    
"The outcome is a manifestation of the trust reposed by the people of India in your wise and inspiring leadership," Zardari said in his message to Gandhi.

Describing the Congress party's election victory as "impressive", Gilani said the outcome was a "manifestation of the confidence reposed by the people of India" in Singh's "sagacious leadership."
     
The Pakistan government is hoping the new Congress-led coalition in New Delhi will resume the stalled composite dialogue process, sources in the Foreign Office said.  

They said Pakistan had taken steps to address India's concerns about terrorism and there is a need to resume the peace process so that both countries could address common concerns.
     
India suspended the composite dialogue process in the wake of last year's Mumbai terror attacks, which it blamed on
Pakistan-based elements, including the banned Lashker-e-Taiba.

It has linked the resumption of dialogue to Pakistan taking action against the perpetrators of the terrorist incident.