In order to give a thrust to the ongoing Indo-Pak peace process, the prime ministers of Pakistan and India are likely to hold an important meeting on the sidelines of the forthcoming SAARC summit, scheduled to be held in Maldives on November 10-11. Currently, Maldives is engaged in vital talks with seven other SAARC member states, including Pakistan and India, to finalise the agenda for the 17th summit meeting of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
However, an important aspect of the upcoming SAARC meeting to be held in Addu in Maldives will be the meeting on the sidelines of the summit between Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh. “Islamabad and New Delhi are silently working on the finalisation of the two prime ministers’ meeting through diplomatic channels and once it is decided that the meeting will take place, the next step will be to devise the agenda for the crucial higher-level Indo-Pak talks,” said a Pakistani diplomat, requesting anonymity.
He said the leaders of Pakistan and India, in their meeting in Addu, would try to push forward the ongoing Indo-Pak peace process so that progress could be made on the settlement of the Kashmir and other bilateral disputes.