NEW DELHI, April 25: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lauded Pakistan’s new leadership on Friday for its positive statements about the road ahead with India and offered hopes of building new bridges with Islamabad to bring peace to the region and also to combat the looming economic crisis together.

Dr Singh’s comments came at the inauguration of a bridge over the Chenab river in the Akhnoor region of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

“There is a growing sentiment among the people in both countries that misunderstanding and problems between them should be resolved through dialogue. Taking advantage of this new climate, the people of the two countries can move forward to build a permanent friendship.”

Announcing measures to ease travel across the LoC, Dr Singh spoke of features like triple entry permits and completion of the verification process within six weeks. Operationalisation of Kargil-Skardu and Jammu-Sialkot routes are under discussion.

The frequency of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakot bus services should be increased to weekly from the present fortnightly. “However, none of these steps will be effective unless there is a sustained climate of peace,” he cautioned.

“I hope that we can continue to deepen our dialogue with the democratically elected government in Pakistan. I have been heartened by the positive statements made by the new leaders,” he said. Urging Kashmiri’s to come together to realise their dream of a “Naya Jammu & Kashmir”, he said: “Let us build new bridges across rivers and between communities and between regions, and between nations.”