Islamabad: A senior journalist, Parliamentarian and key aide of Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has said that India would prefer Pakistan having a democratically elected government rather than a military administration.

"We definitely find ourselves more convenient and comfortable dealing with a democratically elected government in Pakistan," to resolve bilateral disputes, BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) Parliamentarian Balbir Punj told 'The Nation' in an interview in Islamabad on August 10.

"We are nobody to decide who should govern Pakistan. It's the people of Pakistan who have to decide who should run the government," Punj, who is in Pakistan as a part of the visiting Indian delegation, further clarified.

"We have to deal with whosoever is in the government in Pakistan," he added.

About the past bitter experiences of failed talks and the present thaw between the two nations, he said, "We failed because in the past, talks started from the top, and now, these have started from the grassroots level. It is the beginning to end the distrust between the two countries."

"We must realise that the visit by Indian MPs is not an ordinary mode of negotiations as people from all shades of life have come to Pakistan."

Describing the people of Pakistan as very friendly and desirous of peace, he said it was wrong to assume that India did not want Pakistan to exist.

"This is wrong to assume that India did not accept the existence of Pakistan. Pakistan is a reality. And, we pray and work for prosperity of Pakistan."

He said distrust between the two countries would take some time to overcome. "We have baggage of 56 years hostility. No one can foresee the solution of Kashmir in short future. In next 10 years, Kashmir may no longer be an issue," he observed, concluding that "In order to remove mutual suspicion, one has to talk and maybe for the sake of talking, that is the only way out."

ANI