HYDERABAD, Sept 18: Sukhbir Singh, a renowned pop singer from India, has urged both the governments of India and Pakistan to ease restrictions for people from both sides of the divide and appreciated the peace overtures being made by the two governments.

Talking to this correspondent briefly on Thursday, Mr Sukhbir said that these positives measures on the part of both the governments would go a long way in promoting peace and bridging the gulf in the region.

He said that he always got a good response from the people of Pakistan whenever he visited it, which was just like home to him.

He said that no untoward incident had taken place in his concerts, organized in Pakistan so far.

Talking about Kashmir, Mr Sukhbir said that he did not know what was the root cause of the turmoil in Kashmir, which had been a bone of contention between Pakistan and India, both of which shared a common culture as well as language.

He pointed out that like India electronic channels were emerging speedily in Pakistan too, and added that the country had great music lovers and produced people like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who was held in high esteem in India.

He referred to Dubai-based TV channels which were quite popular in Pakistan and sponsored by Pakistani-based organizations.

He said that thousands of people from his community visited Pakistan every year in April to page homage to Guru Nanak in Lahore and they were well received in this country.

He said that he would welcome singers from Pakistan if they visited India to promote peace.

Mr Sukhbir wondered that when European countries could form an alliance in the form of the European Union, why could not India and Pakistan come closer to each other to iron out their differences and provide an opportunity to the people to live in peace.

He was happy to note that there was great enthusiasm among the people of Hyderabad where he had witnessed an enthusiastic crowd that ran into thousands on Wednesday night.

Earlier, Mr Sukhbir enthralled the audience with his songs as thousands of people, mostly youth, danced to his popular Punjabi pop songs at a big charity concert called ‘Bhangra Night’.

A galaxy of artistes performed in the concert. Prominent among those who appeared were Fakhir, Fuzon, Jawad Ahmed, Shazia Khushk and Adeel Chaudhry.