NEW DELHI: Borrowing from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election slogan, Pakistan on Tuesday said ‘acche din aa rahe hain’, good days are coming.

Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit was of course referring to bilateral ties with India and not to any political promise by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Press Trust of India said Mr Basit expressed the hope that the process of granting non-discriminatory market access to the country would begin after the resumption of talks between the two sides.

“Let the bilateral engagement resume. Our two prime ministers have met and all the issues were discussed and we hope that things will be carried forward when the bilateral talks resume,” Mr Basit told reporters here.

He was replying to a question on granting of MFN or NDMA status to India.

While speaking at the curtain-raiser of ‘Aalishan Pakistan: 2nd Pakistan Life-Style Exhibition’, he said people of both the countries have given huge mandate to their respective leaders to create a better understanding between the two countries.

“I have no reason to doubt for a moment that acche din aa rahe hain (good days are approaching),” he said.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan High Commission reported a curtain-raiser ceremony, jointly presided over by S.M. Muneer, Chief Executive of Trade Development of Pakistan, the high commissioner and Sidharth Birla, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry was held at FICCI headquarters on Tuesday.

Mr Muneer said that over 250 top companies from Pakistan would showcase their high-end products during the four-day event. Besides the exhibition, a delegation of high-profile Pakistan businessmen would be visiting India to explore trade opportunities in various sectors.

He was confident that the event would not only promote trade but also offer a chance for the people to feel and own the highest quality Pakistani products.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2014