Zardari hints at opening Sulemanki border, having dialogue with India on all issues

Islamabad, Apr 21(ANI): Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has hinted at opening the Sulemanki border and added that the country is willing to have dialogue with India on all issues, and is also open to boosting trade ties with the neighbouring country.

He said that he is also examining the possibility of connecting Multan with India.

"A politician's last weapon is dialogue. If you're not talking today, it doesn't mean you won't have to talk tomorrow," The Express Tribune quoted him, as saying.

He also ruled out the possibility of a unilateral withdrawal of troops from the "world's highest battlefield".

"How can there be a unilateral withdrawal? Have we been sitting for 10 years doing nothing? Yes, our soldiers are being sacrificed but we are a nation who makes sacrifices," he added.

Zardari further criticised Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for "accumulating" 17 ministries to himself.

"This is the difference between Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and other parties... How can one person handle 17 ministries? I had power, I could break down the parliament, but I diluted it in every form and distributed it," he said.

"What these parties do not understand is reconciliation. If you cannot reconcile with other parties, how can you have good relations with other countries when you're in power?" he added. (ANI)