'Manmohan Singh at greater ease in second term'

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be at “greater ease” as he begins his second term and Pakistan must leverage this so that the two countries can move forward to undo the damage caused by the 26/11 attack in Mumbai and resume the derailed sub-continental peace process, an editorial in a leading English daily said on Saturday.

“Pakistan will soon be resuming the process of negotiation with India and possibly attempting to undo some of the damage inflicted by the Mumbai incident last November,” The News said in an editorial headlined “Looking east”.

It noted that Pakistan will be dealing with “a confident new Indian government” led by a prime minister who “will also bring to office this time round greater ease in handling matters on various fronts and looking beyond the economic arena where his dealings played a pivotal part in his success.

“He and his government have already made it clear the issue of ties with Pakistan will be a priority for it,” the editorial pointed out.

Pointing to the need to "move forward step by step", the editorial said: “Files on the happenings at Mumbai continue to be interchanged. This matter needs to be put at rest, new confidence-building measures initiated and a full effort made to return the derailed peace process to the track, so that a more secure future can be built for people in both countries".

In this context, it said one of Pakistan's priorities should be to "build greater regional stability as this can play a big part in ensuring a lasting victory over militancy".

"There is a growing recognition of the inter-connections between terrorism in the region and the factors that fuel it. Pakistan must use this awareness to its advantage and press also for a move to resolve the Kashmir issue - which has a big role to play both in giving rise to militant groups and in the antagonism that determines relations between the two South Asian neighbours," the editorial contended.