Pakistan, Indian foreign secretaries hold first round of talks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India on Thursday held first round of Foreign Secretary level talks here at Foreign Office and discussed in detail peace and security issues.

Secretary External Affairs of India Nirupama Rao led her delegation while Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir led his side in the talks which will also continue on Friday.

The main focus of tomorrow's talks will be on the Jammu and Kashmir issue, said Foreign Office officials.

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao arrived here in the morning to hold talks with her Pakistani counterpart.

The meeting between the two foreign secretaries is part of the resumption of dialogue process following a meeting between Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Dr. Manmohan Singh in Thimpu, Bhutan in April last year on the sidelines of SAARC Summit.

Pakistan and India, which have fought three wars since independence, had been engaged in talks but the process was halted following the November 2008 attack in Mumbai and it was revived after the meeting of two prime ministers in Thimpu last year.

It is expected that the two sides will also finalize the dates for the meeting of two foreign ministers that will be held in New Delhi next month in which the progress made at the meetings of different secretary level talks will be reviewed for taking final decisions.

The resumed dialogue process is underway in pursuance of the mandate given by the prime ministers of India and Pakistan, following their meeting in Thimphu in April, 2010 and the meeting of foreign ministers of the two countries in Islamabad in July, 2010 and the earlier meeting between Foreign Secretaries in Thimphu on February 6, 2011 with a view to carry forward the dialogue process.

The Indian Secretary for External Affairs in a statement on her arrival here said she would work towards building trust and confidence between the nations.

Nirupama Rao said, "I have come to Pakistan with an open mind and a constructive spirit in order to work towards building trust and confidence in our relationship and thereby leading to an eventual normalization of relations for the well-being and prosperity of our two peoples."

She said, "This is an important visit as it marks the penultimate leg of the resumed dialogue process before the visit of the Foreign Minister of Pakistan to India by July 2011."

Rao said, "I bring with me the best wishes of the people and Government of India for the people and Government of Pakistan. We wish to see a stable, peaceful and prosperous Pakistan."

She said, "We hope to discuss the issues that have been mandated to us by our leadership, namely peace and security, including CBMs, Jammu and Kashmir and promotion of friendly exchanges."

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011