NEW DELHI: Shahid Malik, Pakistan High Commissioner to India has said India should not allow one individual, Hafiz Saeed, to hold the entire bilateral relationship hostage.

‘Why should one individual be allowed to hold hostage the entire India-Pakistan relationship. Hafiz Saeed can’t be the touchstone,’ Pakistan’s High Commissioner said in an interview with a news agency here.

He said Pakistan had taken concrete action against 26/11 perpetrators and underlined that the democratic regime in Islamabad offered a ‘historic opportunity’ to India to make peace.

‘The Pakistan government has gone in appeal (against a Lahore court’s decision to free Saeed). That process is continuing,’ Shahid Malik said adding ‘the law of the jungle does not operate in Pakistan. The due process of law has to take course.’

‘We have made repeated offers to restart dialogue. How do you define concrete action? We feel we are taking these steps; we have started taking action against terror suspects,’ he stressed.

‘On Oct 10, we started the trial of the seven accused. That was a big step forward. That should have gone well in India. In addition, 13 persons have been declared proclaimed offenders. We have requested the Interpol to trace them,’ he said.

‘The vibes are positive. For an Indian Prime Minister to make such remarks on three consecutive days sends a very positive signal. We lost no time in welcoming them,’ Shahid Malik said while referring to Indian Prime Minister’s friendly gestures extending hand of friendship to Pakistan recently.

‘Things are on hold. What gives me reason for optimism is a desire at the highest level of political leadership to improve relations,’ Malik said, while indicating that efforts were afoot to resume dialogue between Islamabad and New Delhi.

‘There should be no doubt in anybody’s mind about Pakistan’s commitment to peace with India,’ he added.

The democratic dispensation in Pakistan offers the best hope to taking the relationship forward with India. India should take advantage of it. It offers a historic opportunity for making peace with India, he emphasised.

When questioned about a rethink among some sections in India about the form of composite dialogue, the High Commissioner said ‘composite dialogue in its current form is the only way forward.’

‘Composite dialogue covers an entire gamut of India-Pakistan relations. This is the best way forward,’ he said.

People-to-people contacts, sporting links and composite dialogue have to move in tandem. The overall improvement in atmospherics and the India-Pakistan relations has to be seen in a holistic manner. Dialogue is the only way forward, he stressed.

Students from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) visited India recently. Women journalists from India visited Pakistan under the SAFMA initiative. They all show the desire of people for peace and dialogue, Shahid Malik added.—APP