DHAKA, Jan 7: Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia on Monday said India and Pakistan should end their conflicts and work to promote regional peace and development.

She said the handshake between Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf at the SAARC summit paved the way for them to exchange views directly.

“I am convinced that the leaders of Pakistan and India have noted the sentiments of the summit participants and would honour them by defusing the growing tension between their two countries,” she told a news conference on her return from the summit.

“The SAARC acted as a catalyst in halting escalation of military hostilities between the two nuclear-powered rivals,” she said, adding it highlighted the growing importance of the body. —Reuters