Gilani accepts Indian invitation to witness cricket semi-final
KARACHI, Mar. 27 (APP)- Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has accepted the invitation of his Indian counter part Dr Manmohan Singh to witness the ICC World Cup semi final between Pakistan and India at Mohali on March 30, 2011.Addressing a press conference here Sunday, she said that Pakistan has appreciated the gesture extended by the Indian Premier Dr Manmohan Singh.“Extending of the invitation from Indian premier and our acceptance indicates that both the countries are seriously coming closer with a realization that dialogue is the only way forward”, she quoted Prime Minister as saying. 
She said that Prime Minister Gilani has welcomed the invitation and thanked his Indian counterpart for inviting him to watch the match at Mohali.
She said that during the SAARC summit in Bhutan, both the leaders had agreed that their countries were facing the similar challenges and pledged that dialogue was the only way forward.
She said that invitation extended by the Indian premier is in continuation of that commitment to dialogue. Prime Minister has said that such invitation will provide a “flip” to diplomacy where the countries are set to resume bilateral talks particularly when their Foreign secretaries had already met, and the Interior secretaries of the two countries are going to meet during these days.
Prime Minister, she said, has maintained that the peaceful, stable and democratic Pakistan was vital for the stability of the region. “We want to promote peace in the region as there can be no other alternative except dialogue, he added.
The Minister said that the Prime Minister Gilani has expressed the desire to promote trade and strengthen economic ties with India.
Giving her opinion, Dr Firdous said she was confident that the commitment of our prime minister and the gesture shown by the Indian premier will help us to really engage ourselves on diplomatic front for resumption of composite dialogue.
She hoped that cricket diplomacy can be one of the very important and crucial playgrounds where this “ice breaking” can be witnessed.
She said that after Bhutan, the commitment was there and the leadership wanted to sit together, but due to certain commitment and over occupancy, they could not find time to sit together and engage themselves in such sort of dialogue.
Cricket diplomacy, in her views, will provide doors to the leadership that they can engage themselves, later on, for the resumption of composite dialogue because we have common issues.
She said that both the developing countries are facing challenges of illiteracy, hunger, poverty and unemployment and we can overcome these issues and the only forward is dialogue.
In her opinion the best option was to promote people to people contacts which can help us in supporting and promoting these ties.