Islamabad Oct 9: The Speakers of India and Pakistan agreed to jointly work for the promotion of improved relations between the two South Asian neighbours despite all hurdles. The meeting took place here in Geneva on the sidelines of the ongoing 129^th Inter Parliamentary Union Assembly, according to a message received from Switzerland.

Speaker Ayaz Sadiq stressed on keeping all available channels open to avoid escalation of miss-trust and bitterness on both sides of the divide. Parliaments, as the real voices of the people, were better placed to engage and seek common solutions to common problems.

Speaker Ayaz Sadiq especially referred to the previous visit of the Indian Speaker Kumar to Pakistan in February 2012. That parliamentary exchange, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said, had created a lot of goodwill and opened new vistas of cooperation between the two neighbouring states. “That was the first visit by any Indian Speaker. Let us not make it the last,” Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said.

Speaker Meira Kumar said she still held nostalgic memories of her visit to Pakistan, which was frequently quoted in the Indian media. She regretted that whenever moves were made for a mutually respecting neighborhood, the efforts were thwarted by isolated acts.

Speaker Kumar especially raised the issue of terrorism in the region, which was affecting all nations. She called for joint efforts to eradicate the menace. She also called for respecting the sanctity of the Line of Control.

Speaker Ayaz Sadiq shared her views and said that Pakistan was the worst victim of terrorism as it had sacrificed the lives of more than 60,000 innocent men, women and children in gruesome acts of terror.  On LOC, Speaker Ayaz reminded his Indian counterpart that the “individual acts must not spoil the collective efforts”.

He also referred to the immense pool of economic opportunities of the two countries and said there was no point in doing business with the world and ignoring markets next door. “In India, Pakistan has a huge market and in Pakistan, you have a sizeable number. Let us not let it go waist and jointly work for a mutually prosperous future for our generations,” said Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.