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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, set to be the country’s next prime minister, emphasized the importance of resuming dialogue with India on all outstanding issues, including the Kashmir dispute, at a meeting with Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria in Islamabad on Friday.
Khan is scheduled to be sworn in as prime minister on August 18, after his party secured 116 general seats in last month’s elections. He has already been congratulated and welcomed by envoys of several other countries.
The Indian High Commissioner also congratulated Pakistan’s former cricket captain over his performance in the recent electoral contest and presented him with a cricket bat signed by India’s national team.
Bisaria told his host that there was renewed optimism in India that New Delhi’s relations with Islamabad would improve under his leadership.
Khan welcomed the positive message conveyed by the Indian High Commissioner on behalf of his government, pointing out that it was imperative for both countries to move forward for the betterment of their people.
He also expressed his hope that the SAARC Summit would soon be held in Islamabad.
After the meeting, PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry told a group of journalists that Khan wants regional peace and cooperation.
Another PTI leader, Faisal Javed Khan, said that former Indian cricketers Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Navjot Singh Sidhu, had been invited to Khan’s oath-taking ceremony, along with Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup-winning squad.