Gilani says he is a man of crisis

A day ahead of his appearance in the Supreme Court on contempt notice, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday called himself a “man of crisis” in context of Pakistani politics.
He was talking to an Indian parliamentary delegation that called on him at the Prime Minister’s House. The delegation is currently on a tour of Pakistan and holding exchange of views with their Pakistani counterparts under the banner of PILDAT.
During the meeting, an Indian delegate said that the Indian prime minister had rightly said Yousaf Raza Gilani was a man of peace. The prime minister responded by saying that in context of Pakistani politics, he was “a man of crisis”.
The prime minister said his government was committed to a constructive, sustained and result-oriented process of engagement with India. He said Pakistan wanted a just, peaceful and negotiated settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
“There is also a need by India to ensure full implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty and address concerns relating to that,” he said referring to the dozens of dams being constructed by India on Indus River in violation of Indus Water Treaty – another contentious issue between both the countries other than Kashmir dispute.
Gilani also recalled his meetings with Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in Sharm el Sheikh, Thimpu, Mohali and Maldives on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit, saying the interactions created an enabling environment paving the way for the meaningful dialogue process.
Earlier, Mani Shankar Aiyar, former union minister and leader of the Indian National Congress and Yashwant Sinha, former union minister and a BJP leader, thanked Prime Minister Gilani for his warm hospitality at the PM House.
They said uninterrupted dialogue could bring peace and stability in both countries on durable basis, which could entitle the both prime ministers for Nobel Peace Prize. They said the Indian prime minister had rightly said that Yousaf Raza Gilani was a man of peace. They said that they had witnessed a complete transformation in Pakistan in terms of friendly and hospitable environment in Pakistan, compared to their last visit in January 2011 last year. They delegation members added that there was a vast potential for trade between the both countries that could touch the figure of $15 billion instead of the current $2 billion.
The delegation also handed over the joint parliamentary resolution to the prime minister.
The Indian parliamentary delegation consists of Mani Shankar Aiyar, Derek O Brien, Naresh Gujral, Satish Chandra Mishra, Sitaram Yechury, Yashwant Sinha, Asaduddin Owalsi, Baijayant Jay Panda, Dasgupta Gurudas, Hamdullah Sayeed, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Shatrughan Prasad Sinha, Supriya Sadanad Sule, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Tathagata Sathpathy.