By IANS,
New Delhi : Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari Saturday rang up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to congratulate him on his Congress party’s victory in the elections.
This was the first telephonic conversation between the two leaders since they last spoke over five months ago – a few days after the Nov 26, 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai that froze bilateral dialogue between the two countries.
Zardari has been rooting for better relations between India and Pakistan revolving around increased trade and economic cooperation and more people-to-people contacts since he became president in August last year.
Last week, Zardari said he was looking forward to resuming dialogue with India after a new government is in place in New Delhi. In the first of its kind statement by a Pakistani leader, Zardari also said that India was not a threat to Pakistan.
Manmohan Singh has, however, made it clear that the dialogue process won’t be resumed till Pakistan brings the Mumbai attack culprits to justice.
The Manmohan Singh government, expected to be in place in a few days, will now have to focus its energies on what is increasingly turning out to be a turbulent neighbourhood, specially in Pakistan that faces an existentialist threat from a resurgent Taliban.
Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck was the first foreign leader to call up and congratulate Manmohan Singh on his victory in general eelctions.