India, Pakistan agree to resume frozen peace dialogue
Friday, 30 April 2010
THIMPHU, April 29 (AFP): India and Pakistan took a significant step towards resuming their frozen peace dialogue Thursday as their prime ministers held direct talks for the first time in nine months.
During the discussions in the Bhutanese capital Thimphu, which both sides described as positive, the two leaders agreed that their respective foreign ministers would meet soon to draw up a road map for future talks.
The officials would work out "the modalities of restoring trust and confidence in the relationship and thus paving the way for a substantive dialogue on all issues of mutual concern", Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the decision not to restrict the agenda of future talks was "a step in the right direction".
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart, Yousuf Raza Gilani, met for 90 minutes on the sidelines of the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit under way in Thimphu.
India broke off a peace dialogue with Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks November 2008 that left 166 people dead.
Since then, it has repeatedly rebuffed Pakistani calls for a resumption, insisting that Islamabad has not done enough to bring the Pakistan-based militants that India blames for the carnage to justice.
During the talks with Gilani, Rao said the Indian prime minister was "very emphatic that Pakistan has to act, that the terror machine needs to be controlled, needs to be eliminated".
During the discussions in the Bhutanese capital Thimphu, which both sides described as positive, the two leaders agreed that their respective foreign ministers would meet soon to draw up a road map for future talks.
The officials would work out "the modalities of restoring trust and confidence in the relationship and thus paving the way for a substantive dialogue on all issues of mutual concern", Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the decision not to restrict the agenda of future talks was "a step in the right direction".
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart, Yousuf Raza Gilani, met for 90 minutes on the sidelines of the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit under way in Thimphu.
India broke off a peace dialogue with Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks November 2008 that left 166 people dead.
Since then, it has repeatedly rebuffed Pakistani calls for a resumption, insisting that Islamabad has not done enough to bring the Pakistan-based militants that India blames for the carnage to justice.
During the talks with Gilani, Rao said the Indian prime minister was "very emphatic that Pakistan has to act, that the terror machine needs to be controlled, needs to be eliminated".