Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, almost two weeks after his visit to Pakistan, has revealed on Sunday that he recently received a message from Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Sidhu said that Imran Khan has sent him a message expressing his desire for peace between India and Pakistan.
“Kargil war happened after former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee returned from Pakistan. Pathankot attack happened after PM Narendra Modi returned from Pakistan, but when Sidhu returned from Pakistan and some nok-jhonk (bickering) took place, the message from my friend came that ‘we want peace… You take one step and we will take two’,” Sidhu said, referring to Imran.
Responding to a question at an event organised by Youth Congress in Ajmer city of Rajasthan, Sidhu said sportsmen and artists break barrier and bring people closer.
He said dialogue is the only way to improve ties with Pakistan.
“Hope is the biggest top (cannon), which conquers the impossible. My hope has strengthened after my friend became the prime minister of Pakistan after a struggle of years… I can say with full confidence that relations between both the nations would be enhanced,” he said.
Sidhu attended the oath-taking ceremony of the PM in Islamabad on August 18.
During the visit, Sidhu sparked controversy after he was photographed hugging Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The hug triggered a torrent of criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party.