NEW DELHI, March 24: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto urged India and Pakistan on Saturday to end what she called a destructive chapter in their relationship and proposed that the two countries hold a peace summit in August to mark their 60th Independence Day.

Addressing an international symposium organised in Delhi by the India Today magazine, Ms Bhutto said South Asia needed to have a secure future for its children and suggested an India-Pakistan dialogue modelled on New Delhi's engagement with Beijing in which they had disputes but did not go to war.

The PPP chairperson, who is planning to contest general elections later this year, said she was committed to peace with India and had made "trade and not conflict" a top priority for her electoral campaign.

"On the 60th year of independence of both the countries, I propose that we put an end to the destructive chapter of the lives of the two countries," she told the participants.

Ms Bhutto suggested that the leadership of the two nations should hold a summit on their 60th anniversary in August to declare their commitment to "permanent peace and prosperity that the two neighbours must have...we must keep our region secure for we can't fail our children."