NEW DELHI; Pakistan’s new high commissioner, Abdul Sattar, said there was not threat to peace on the subcontinent but felt that a “Gorbachev touch” was required to tackle Indo Pak problems.
Speaking at a reception held in his honour by the India Pakistan friendship society, Sattar paid full some tributes to Gorbachev, whom he described as a man of great courage.
Apparently referring to the Kashmir issue, Sattar did not see the prospects of an immediate solution of the problem but said the two countries required Gorbachev type courage to tackle the contentious issues.
Sattar, who spent over two years in Moscow before taking up the New Delhi assignment, analysed the changes brought about by Gorbachev in the Soviet Union, especially during the past two and a half years.
He touched upon Indo Pak relations saying that the continuation of old policies was not going to be salutary.
Such an approach was not going to put the two countries on a new path that could lead to peace and stability in the region, he felt.
So long as problems are not solved, they will fester”. The leadership in the two countries was hemmed in by constraints, including the public opinion, he said.
The former external affairs minister, I K Gujral, welcomed Sattar on his second ambassadorial posting in New Delhi.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 14, 1990
