NEW YORK: Pakistan and India should seek international assistance for resolution of the Kashmir dispute, former prime minister Shaukat Aziz suggested in a speech at the Asia Society during the lunch of his book, “From Banking to the Thorny World of Politics”, on Wednesday.

Shaukat Aziz, who has not visited Pakistan since he stepped down as prime minister in 2007, said there might not be a better time than the present for a Kashmir settlement because the ruling parties in both countries enjoyed a comfortable majority in parliament.

 “Both Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi have enough votes to launch an initiative. The issue of Kashmir has been languishing for decades. India and Pakistan must get the peace process moving again for the sake of over one billion people in the Sub-continent,’’ he observed.

He said the presidential form of government was better suited to Pakistan than the parliamentary system. “Under the presidential system, a directly elected president can bring the best available talent into the cabinet with a mandate to transform the country.”

He cited the success of the presidential system in countries like South Korea and Singapore.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2016