Indian PM Manmohan Singh agrees to conditional visit of Pakistan
Singh says that the two nations should resolve its issues through dialogue.
ADDU, MALDIVES:
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that he wanted relations to improve with Pakistan however, attached some conditions while accepting Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's invitation to visit Pakistan.
Speaking to reporters on his flight back from the SAARC summit in Maldives, Singh said that the two nations should resolve its issues through dialogue, however no progress could be made until Pakistan took sufficient steps against the perpetrators of the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai.
The Indian Premier said he will visit Pakistan only when the two countries can do something solid together. However, he acknowledged that the relations between him and Gilani had grown since their last meeting.
"Our approach to Pakistan is trust but verify. We are not putting blind faith in one individual (Gilani). I do hope it will genuinely lead to the normalisation of relations," he said.
Linking the peace process to the Mumbai attack, he said he will take public opinion in India concerning the attack into account before going ahead with dialogue.
If Manmohan Singh visits Pakistan, it will be the first prime ministerial visit from India since 2004 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Pakistan for the SAARC summit.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that he wanted relations to improve with Pakistan however, attached some conditions while accepting Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's invitation to visit Pakistan.
Speaking to reporters on his flight back from the SAARC summit in Maldives, Singh said that the two nations should resolve its issues through dialogue, however no progress could be made until Pakistan took sufficient steps against the perpetrators of the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai.
The Indian Premier said he will visit Pakistan only when the two countries can do something solid together. However, he acknowledged that the relations between him and Gilani had grown since their last meeting.
"Our approach to Pakistan is trust but verify. We are not putting blind faith in one individual (Gilani). I do hope it will genuinely lead to the normalisation of relations," he said.
Linking the peace process to the Mumbai attack, he said he will take public opinion in India concerning the attack into account before going ahead with dialogue.
If Manmohan Singh visits Pakistan, it will be the first prime ministerial visit from India since 2004 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Pakistan for the SAARC summit.