Pakistan PM’s overtures of peace tops headlines in India

Pioneer

The Asian Age

The Economic Times

The Hindu

The Indian Express

Times of India

• Several newspapers report excerpts from speech made by Khan in Kartarpur
• Premier was in the area to inaugurate a project for a crossing between the two countries

DELHI: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s extending of the olive branch to India received prominent coverage in the country’s media, with leading dailies covering his overtures of peace made during a speech when he inaugurated the Kartarpur corridor project on Wednesday.
English daily Hindustan Times (HT) lead with “Ready for talks with PM Modi any time, says Pakistan PM Imran Khan” as its headline. One of the largest-circulated English newspapers in India, the HT wrote that “a day after India said it was regrettable that Imran Khan referred to Kashmir at the ground-breaking of the Kartarpur corridor, the premier again raised the issue and said India shouldn’t treat it only as a ‘territorial issue’.”
The piece went on to say that “this was the latest in a series of strong statements made by the Pakistani administration expressing an inclination for greater engagement, most of which came in the wake of the two nations deciding to build a corridor for Sikh pilgrims from India to visit the Kartarpur shrine in Pakistan.” The story also highlighted the fact that “Khan called for India to make a fresh start during his term to revive the dialogue process between the two countries.”
On the other hand, New Delhi’s leading newspaper, the Indian Express chose to lead with the headline “There is a clampdown on Hafeez Sayeed…I have inherited the problem: Imran Khan.” The paper wrote that “Khan’s remarks on Saeed came the morning after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told Indian reporters that there has been no “tangible evidence” against Saeed. Khan, meanwhile, said that while a consensus for peace has developed, Pakistan’s outreach should not be confused as ‘desperation for peace’.”
In an editorial, The Tribune, a leading voice of the Indian state of Punjab, opined that “the ball is now in India’s court after it treated Pakistan’s earlier quest to utilize the Kartarpur corridor with suspicion as it sought a reset by glossing over past terror strikes in India that were incubated on its soil. Imran Khan’s call for amity and détente sounds more sincere with a reference to India’s bugbear — cross-border terrorism.”
It further added that “the unanimity among all the major players in Pakistan on improving ties with India, as Imran claims, should be reflected in bringing to book the masterminds of the Mumbai, Uri and Pathankot attacks, the actual cause for the strain.”