Pakistan Views

Pakistan’s Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sherry Rehman said here on Friday that her country was committed to taking forward the ongoing dialogue process with India “as peace is a prerequisite” for sustainable development and stability in the region. She was talking to reporters after attending the last rituals of prominent peace campaigner, Nirmala Deshpande, who passed away on Thursday. Sherry said that Nirmala’s death was a great loss not only for India but also for Pakistan as she had played a crucial role in consolidating and promoting the dialogue process between the two countries.She said that Nirmala, popularly known as ‘Deedi’ (elder sister), had greatly contributed, with the help of MPs from Pakistan, towards establishment of Pak-India Parliamentary Forum, the first in the region to make the peace process sustainable and irreversible.The Minister remarked that such persons in the two countries “never die”, and Deshpande’s life-long noble struggle for love, affection and peace among various cultures, faiths and especially across the border, would always remind the generations to come about these accomplishments. She said that the death of Deshpande had created a huge gap, difficult to be filled in the years to come.She, however, expressed the resolve that the government and parliamentarians of Pakistan would encourage peace activities on both sides to continue carrying forward this noble mission to facilitate and promote people to people contact between the two nations. Sherry said she, along with Qamar Zaman Kaira, Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas, and PPP leader Manzoor Ahmed, especially came to the Indian capital to represent the government and the people of Pakistan at the last rites of Nirmala Deshpande to pay homage.She also met several Indian leaders and MPs, including Secretary General Congress Rahul Gandhi, and conveyed condolences on behalf of Pakistan government on the demise of the peace activist. Rahul specially thanked the government of Pakistan for sending a delegation to share the grief.