Indian FM in Pakistan for talks to resume peace process

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Pratibha Patil

ISLAMABAD, July 14 (AFP): India's Foreign Minister SM Krishna arrived in Islamabad Wednesday for talks on how to resume a peace process between the bitter nuclear rivals, an official said.
Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi are scheduled to meet Thursday in the first foreign minister-level talks since New Delhi suspended a four-year peace process after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
An official at Pakistan's foreign ministry told AFP that Krishna arrived in the Pakistani capital in the early afternoon.
Both sides say they are to discuss "all issues" concerning relations between the two countries, which have fought three wars since independence in 1947.
But on the eve of the meeting, India reportedly accused Pakistani intelligence of overseeing the Mumbai attacks which saw 10 Islamist gunmen go on a 60-hour rampage in the Indian city, leaving 166 people dead.
The Indian Express newspaper quoted Home Secretary G. K. Pillai as saying the role of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had become clearer through questioning of David Headley, a suspect under arrest in the United States.
"It was not just a peripheral role. They (the ISI) were literally controlling and coordinating it from the beginning till the end," Pillai was quoted as saying.
The talks are part of a recent reconciliation process. India blamed Pakistani-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for the 2008 attacks and demanded that Islamabad bring to justice the perpetrators.
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has charged seven suspects in connection with the Mumbai attacks, including alleged mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and alleged LeT operative Zarar Shah, but Pakistan has said it needs more evidence.
"We are approaching the meeting with a positive mindset," Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said.
The Krishna-Qureshi talks on Thursday will be the third major contact between the two countries in six months.
The Indian and Pakistani prime ministers met in April on the sidelines of a regional summit in Bhutan, which set in motion the process to revive suspended contacts at different levels of government.