Pakistan wants peaceful neighbourhood, says Nawaz

Indian HC pays farewell visit to PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that Pakistan would strictly adhere to its peaceful neighbourhood policy as Islamabad believes that stability in the region would greatly help in improving the life of the people of the area.

Talking to the outgoing Indian high commissioner Dr TCA Raghavan here at the PM House on Tuesday, he said that sincerity of the purpose could become good source of improvement in mutual ties of the countries. The high commissioner is attaining superannuation from the Indian Foreign Service tomorrow (Thursday) and it would also be his last day in Pakistan as high commissioner and his government service both.

He thanked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for his support in efforts for betterment in relations of the two countries. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) for Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi was also present during the meeting. The prime minister asked the high commissioner to convey his good wishes to the Indian leadership and expressed the hope that resumption of talks between the two countries would play a role in reducing tension and finding settlement of the issues. Well placed diplomatic sources told The News that the meeting took place in an extremely pleasant atmosphere and the two had also an exchange of pleasantries.

The prime minister also referred to the visit of Indian Prime Minister Modi of Friday last to Lahore and said that thank God everything had gone smoothly despite time being short. Prime Minister Nawaz lauded the services of the Indian high commissioner during his posting in Islamabad.

He also referred to the visits of the Indian prime minister and Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj to Pakistan that took place during his tenure. The Indian high commissioner who made the farewell call termed Nawaz Sharif as a man of peace and a statesman. It has been officially stated that the issues pertaining to the bilateral relations between the two countries were discussed during the meeting.

In the meanwhile, sources pointed out that Dr. Raghvan has been offered to serve the Indian government in a different capacity but he has declined and it is likely that he would be joining the corporate sector in his country.