By IANS,
New Delhi : Pakistan Senate Chairman Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here Friday and pushed for greater parliamentary and civil society exchanges between the two countries.
Bokhari, who is leading a seven-member delegation of Pakistan legislators, said they were interested in learning about the process of making laws and the functioning of parliamentary democracy in India.
The delegation Thursday visited the Indian parliament and got warm welcome by members in both houses.
Bokhari underlined that democracy in Pakistan is good for relations between the two countries.
“There is this misconception that only under a Pakistani dictator or military can relations improve with India,” he said. “It is under people’s representatives accountable and answerable to the people that Pakistan and India have embarked on a re-engagement process,” he added.
“The democratic constitution of Pakistan had been polluted at times by dictators but the power now lies with parliament and it shows the commitment of Pakistani leadership to strengthening parliamentary democracy,” he said.
Bokhari underscored that the country’s civilian government is keen on having better ties with India.
He also stressed the need for invigorating the dialogue process, which was resumed in February last year, and said that despite the “very unfortunate” Mumbai attacks, it was time for the two countries to stop indulging in mutual recriminations.