Gilani thanks Singh for his gift of mangoes

Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, May 31 (PTI) Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf
Raza Gilani has thanked his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh
for sending him a gift of mangoes as a goodwill gesture,
saying he and his family had relished the fruits.
The Prime Minister's House recently received a
consignment of Alphonso mangoes sent by Singh through the
Indian High Commission in Islamabad.
In a message thanking Singh, Gilani said: "I
gratefully acknowledge receipt of very thoughtful gift of
delicious mangoes. My family and I have thoroughly enjoyed and
relished the same.
"Please, Excellency, accept the assurances of my
highest considerations," he said.
The box of mangoes was sent with a personal message
from Singh to reciprocate Gilani's gesture of personally
writing to the Indian premier to thank him for the hospitality
extended to the Pakistani delegation at the recent SAARC
summit in Thimphu.
Gilani's letter had also hailed Singh's decision to
hold official-level talks between the two countries.
This is not the first time India and Pakistan have
resorted to what is being described as "mango diplomacy".
In the 1980s, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and
military ruler Zia-ul-Haq had exchanged gifts of mangoes and
former President Pervez Musharraf too had sent mangoes to
former premier Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2001.
Sources told PTI that during their meeting on the
sidelines of the SAARC summit in Bhutan last month, Singh had
told Gilani about his liking for 'rewari' – a sweet made of
'gur' (jaggery) and 'til' (white sesame seeds) that is popular
in parts of Pakistan's Punjab province, including Chakwal,
from where Singh hails.
Gilani had then said he would send some 'rewari' to
Singh but the sources said the Prime Minister's House had not
yet despatched the sweets. PTI RHL
KAB