Islamabad, Feb 17 (IANS): India's High Commissioner to Pakistan T.C.A. Raghavan Monday called on Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Standing Committee of Pakistan's National Assembly (NA) here.

During the meeting, both of them expressed their firm desire and commitment to improve relations between the two countries, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

The Indian high commissioner said that an appetite for better relations is present across the political divide in India.

Both agreed that the communication gap prevalent between the parliaments of the two countries needed to be bridged by more frequent interaction at parliamentary level, said a statement issued by the NA secretariat here.

Leghari added that clarity from both sides on longstanding issues was a prerequisite for sustainable relations.

He also called for the involvement of civil society and academia in a sustainable dialogue.

Leghari said Pakistan should not be used as an electoral issue in the negative sense. Political posturing in order to gain electoral dividends is something that should be discouraged on both sides.

He also mentioned the role the Indian media was playing through its hostile coverage of Pakistan-India relationship.

Signifying the critical role of the media as a pillar of state, he proposed to make concerted efforts to improve this.

Both stressed that while economic and trade relations between the two countries were improving, political dialogue also needed to be resumed at the earliest.

The Indian high commissioner expressed his resolve to coordinate after induction of a new elected government in India in May this year, and strive to foster interaction between the two legislatures.