Omar welcomes new Pakistan Prime Minister

Srinagar, Mar 27: National Conference (NC) president Omar Abdullah has welcomed the appointment of Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani as the new Pakistan Prime Minister, and urged him to initiate the process of composite dialogue with New Delhi.

"We welcome the appointment of Yousaf Raza Gilani as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Pakistan's talks with India regarding Kashmir will begin soon. We want the process to begin soon," said Abdullah. Pakistan on Wednesday said it was fixing dates for the next round of the composite dialogue with India, a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed hope that his new counterpart Gilani would build on the initiatives taken by former leaders.

Soon after Gilani assumed office, Manmohan Singh sent a letter of congratulation to the new Pakistan Prime Minister, and later called him up to greet him with a hope that the two countries would work expeditiously towards "agreed solutions of pending issues".

The Foreign Secretaries of the two countries are expected to meet to review the last round of the composite dialogue before officials embark on further talks under the process that began nearly four years ago.

ANI