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Pakistan, India agree on secretary-level talks
YEKATERINBURG: The eight-month long Pakistan-India stalled peace process got a fresh lease of life on Tuesday, as President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh agreed for their foreign secretaries to meet on mutually convenient dates.
Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said both leaders had agreed to resume foreign secretary level contacts, but had chosen to focus only on terrorism. He said the officials would assess the steps taken by Pakistan to address Indias concerns. The meeting in Egypt would decide whether to resume bilateral process, and its format, he added. Qureshi said it was in the interest of both countries to resume the dialogue process. The most sensible thing to do now would be to resume dialogue as soon as possible. It is in our mutual interest. Both countries stand to gain by resumption of dialogue. Pakistan feels it is an useful exercise, he said. We made progress (through composite dialogue). It was slow but steady. The people of South Asia would stand to gain from it, he added. He said Pakistan itself was a victim of terrorism and the menace was not country-specific. We are victims of terrorism, but as a nation we have decided to act in a decisive manner and there has been lot of dislocation, he said, likely referring to the situation in Swat. He said all countries agree that terrorism has to be condemned and fought from wherever it emanates ... India, Pakistan, UK and America. To questions, Qureshi said Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilanis comments that Kashmir was the core issue between India and Pakistan were reflective of the issue being one of the components of the composite dialogue. It is an outstanding issue. Both countries recognise it as such, he said. He said Pakistan has to respect the independence of its court system, and could not interfere in the lawful release of Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafeez Muhammad Saeed. The provincial government is contemplating appealing the courts decision, he added. On whether he thought India and Pakistan should make joint efforts to restore peace in Afghanistan, Qureshi said: There has to be a regional approach. All regional players can contribute and should contribute. President Zardari also reiterated Pakistans desire to cooperate with India in bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office. It is imperative the Pakistan-India Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism be reactivated, Zardari told Singh.
Posted by: Steve White 2009-06-17 |
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