NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood has said that both India and Pakistan must give their next generations a future of hope and opportunities.

“Since independence in 1947, Pakistan and India have completed 70 years as free nations. At the time of independence, our founding fathers had envisioned an amicable relationship between the two countries. The relations, however, evolved on a different trajectory,” said Ambassador Mahmood while speaking at a reception held at the high commission to mark the Pakistan Day on Friday.

Mr Mahmood said he hoped that there would be a hard reflection on the time lost, and the opportunities missed. “Building a future different from the past remains indispensible. We owe it to our next generations. We must give them a future of hope and opportunities. I hope we can prove equal to the task and work purposefully to advance the worthy goals of honourable peace, equal security, and shared prosperity.”

He recalled that on March 23, 1940, a historic resolution was adopted in Lahore, which laid the foundation for the Pakistan movement.

He said Quaid-i-Azam Moh­ammad Ali Jinnah had envisioned Pakistan as an economically-strong, modern, moderate, democratic, Islamic welfare state and successive generations had contributed their part towards the realisation of his vision.

“This journey continues — as we have made major strides in deepening democracy, strengthening the economy, building a free media, and nurturing a dynamic civil society. Our endeavours to fight the scourge of terrorism continue to move apace, as reflected in the success of operations Zarb-i-Azb and Raddul Fasaad.”

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2018