ISLAMABAD – On the eve of the Indo-Pak foreign secretaries’ talk in Bhutanese capital Thimpu, Pakistan urged its nuclear neighbour for a “meaningful” dialogue on Kashmir and other disputes saying it was vital for durable peace and stability in South Asian.
Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir is set to meet his Indian counterpart, Nirupama Rao today (Sunday) in Thimpu, the Bhutanese capital on the sidelines of a SAARC ministerial conference in a bid to revive the dialogue process that is stalled for over two years after the terrorist attack in Mumbai.
President Asif Ali Zardari, in his message on the Kashmir Solidarity Day, said Pakistan had always emphasised the need for a meaningful and constructive dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue. “Pakistan firmly believes that dialogue is the only way forward. We have stressed the need for engagement and resumption of the composite dialogue,” he said.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Saturday also urged India for a “meaningful” dialogue to resolve Kashmir and other bilateral disputes. “I urge India to enter into a meaningful and result-oriented dialogue with Pakistan,” the prime minister said in a message on Kashmir Solidarity Day that was read out at the joint session of Azad Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly (AJK-LA) and Kashmir Council held in Muzaffarabad.
An official at the Foreign Office, however, said no ‘breakthrough’ was expected as the talks between the foreign secretaries were of exploratory nature and they were meant to devise the schedule and agenda for the meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna in New Delhi later this year.
“In case of conclusive talks between the foreign secretaries the visit of Foreign Minister Qureshi to India could take place in March this year,” he said. He said the foreign secretaries’ meeting would be the first official talks to revive the dialogue process since the meeting between the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan broke down on July 15 last year.
He said the foreign secretaries would also try to work out agreed settlement to the row over the agenda for the revived peace talks as India wanted to focus on terrorism and enlist it as one of two top issues of composite dialogue agenda along with Kashmir but Pakistan was in no mood to accept the New Delhi’s demand. Pakistan and India were discussing Kashmir, Peace and Security, Siachen, Sir Creek, Wullar Barrage and other issues, eight in all, under the composite dialogue agenda, before the peace process came to halt in the wake of horrendous terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November 2008.
Another Pakistani official, however, said the two sides could reach an agreement to restart talks on less contentious issues such as Sir Creek, trade and commercial ties, culture relations and water issues instead of no negotiations at all.
