Resolving Disputes: Indian foreign secretary expected in Islamabad
India’s foreign secretary’s visit would constitute the first formal talks on the core dispute since 2008.
ISLAMABAD:
India’s Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao is due to visit Pakistan this month to discuss Kashmir, a Pakistani official said on Tuesday.
India’s foreign secretary’s visit would constitute the first formal talks between the two rivals on their core dispute since 2008, but analysts expect no breakthroughs.
Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir were assigned to tackle
the territorial argument over Kashmir, which lies
at the heart of tension between the two nuclear-armed states.
“She (Nirupama Rao) is expected here later this month to discuss peace and security, Jammu and Kashmir as well as friendly exchanges,” the Pakistani foreign ministry official told Reuters. Rao is due to retire on July 31.
Analysts say any breakthrough with regards to this matter is unlikely. “It is a revival of the peace process. Definitely Kashmir will be discussed,” said Mutahir Ahmed, a professor at the Department of International Relations at the University of Karachi.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 15th, 2011.
India’s Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao is due to visit Pakistan this month to discuss Kashmir, a Pakistani official said on Tuesday.
India’s foreign secretary’s visit would constitute the first formal talks between the two rivals on their core dispute since 2008, but analysts expect no breakthroughs.
Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir were assigned to tackle
the territorial argument over Kashmir, which lies
at the heart of tension between the two nuclear-armed states.
“She (Nirupama Rao) is expected here later this month to discuss peace and security, Jammu and Kashmir as well as friendly exchanges,” the Pakistani foreign ministry official told Reuters. Rao is due to retire on July 31.
Analysts say any breakthrough with regards to this matter is unlikely. “It is a revival of the peace process. Definitely Kashmir will be discussed,” said Mutahir Ahmed, a professor at the Department of International Relations at the University of Karachi.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 15th, 2011.