“The proof of the pudding is in the eating”, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Monday, emphasising he would love to see what Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will do to improve ties with India.
Describing some of the statements from Islamabad as “heartening” after Mr. Sharif’s return to power, Omar said that improved relationship between India and Pakistan benefitted his state which suffers when Indo-Pak ties turn sour.
The Chief Minister expressed the view that one indicator of Mr. Sharif’s commitment to improve the ties could come from whether Pakistan buys 500 MW of electricity from India.
“I mean today Pakistan has villages where 22 out of 24 hours, there is no electricity, cities where 10 hours a day, you have power cuts. Whether the establishment and some other forces in Pakistan allow him to buy that electricity, let’s see. Will he be able to give India Most Favoured Nation status that also remains to be seen”, he said.
“Because if you can’t move forward on areas in which Pakistan is going to benefit, how could we expect him to move forward in areas like Siachen, Sir Creek and the biggest question of all which is Kashmir”, said Mr. Abdullah.
After Mr. Sharif was voted back to power, Mr. Abdullah said the PML(N) leader had the track record of trying to improve relations between the two countries.
