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Manmohan Singh Death: Former Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri recalled memories of his association with late Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who died in Delhi on Thursday (December 26) night. In an interview to PTI in Lahore on Friday (December 27), Kasuri said that Dr Singh will be remembered in history as a person who dedicated himself to improving bilateral relations between the two countries.
Kasuri, 83, served as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan from November 2002 to November 2007. He credited Singh for creating a conducive environment in the entire SAARC region. He said this is best exemplified by Dr Singh’s statement that “he was looking forward to the day when it would be possible to have breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Kabul”. Kasuri said he was fortunate to be a part of the process that led to unprecedented progress during peace talks between the two countries.
Mutual trust was created during the tenure of Manmohan Singh
Former Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri said that during Singh’s tenure as Prime Minister, people-to-people contacts increased significantly, resulting in mutual trust between the two governments. Kasuri said that this also helped him in preparing the outline of a possible framework for the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. He said that this process had started when the then President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf and India’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee led the two respective governments, but there is no doubt that Dr. Manmohan Singh had played an important role in taking this process forward. Put my heart and soul into it.
Manmohan Singh was born in Chakwal district of Punjab.
Kasuri recalled that Singh had expressed a strong desire to visit his birthplace in Chakwal district of Punjab, Pakistan. He assured Singh that he would be warmly welcomed in Pakistan. Kasuri expressed hope that one day it would be possible for the late Prime Minister’s wife Gursharan Kaur and other members of her family to visit Mr Singh’s birthplace. Kasuri expressed his heartfelt condolences to his wife and other family members as well as the people of India.
