“We have covered a lot of ground but we still have to go a long way,” President Zardari remarked during his meeting with the Indian prime minister here on the sidelines of the 16th Summit of the Non Aligned Movement.
The president said that it was important to move beyond reiteration of positions to more substantive results, adding that Pakistan was committed to pursuing the process of dialogue and engagement with India.
He also said that Pakistan was keenly looking forward to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit on an early date.
According to Indian news channel CNN-IBN, Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said that Singh had accepted Zardari's invitation, saying he will visit Pakistan at an appropriate time and with a full schedule.
The meeting between the two leaders was held amid clear indications that terrorism would be the prime focus of the Indian side, CNN-IBN also reported.
The two leaders last met in April this year in New Delhi, during Zardari's private visit to India. Earlier they had a meeting at Yekatrinburg, Russia on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
During the meeting, Zardari appreciated Singh’s vision for a peaceful and prosperous South Asia and also shared Pakistan’s desire to have friendly, cooperative and good neighbourly relations with India, as it has a deep interest in promoting peace and stability in the region.
Speaking about South Asia’s potential, the president said that the region has enormous potential and cooperation between the two countries was imperative to exploit this potential. The two leaders also noted the substantive improvement in their bilateral, economic and trade relations.
Expressing his satisfaction at the completion of the second round of the resumed dialogue process, Zardari hoped that it would culminate with the foreign minister level meeting in Islamabad in September.
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran Khalid Babar accompanied the president while the Indian premier was accompanied by Foreign Minister SM Krishna, External Affairs Secretary and the National Security Adviser.
A 'good' meeting: Khar
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar later described the meeting between the two leaders, as "good".
“There is ample proof that the political leadership of the two countries is committed to improving and normalising ties with India,” she told APP at the Conference Centre.
Khar added that Pakistan believes that it was the right approach and the requirement of the times and emerging regional situation to have better ties with all the countries, particularly those in the region.
“It is important that we are able to move past the challenges of the past and move into a new era of cooperation and being able to resolve our disputes,” she said.
The foreign secretaries of the two countries are meeting at Islamabad in September to review the second round of dialogue process that resumed after a gap of two years, following the Mumbai attacks.
COMMENTS (6)
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Pakistan has enough problems which it may not be able to resolve for another 100 years. Nobody sane will want to be identified as a Pakistani. Solve your problems first. Then think about solving Kashmir.
@Concern: Pakistan has been sold
All said, Mr. zardari's govt managed to reign in the forces in PAK towards good relations with India and MM. singh's govt consistently kept the line of communications open depite the lack of progress in terrorism front.
Hopefully, all move in right direction after next elections. However, the will of the PAK govt can only go so far and PAK people have to step up and decide what kind of future they want to fashion with India- staying on the same course of the past or chart a new course.
In the modern world national borders have become increasingly an administrative line of control than ideological one, and hope PAK sheds her ideological differences with India and think differently.
If the current progress is kept alive, then in twenty years there is a free trade zone between the countries of Indian sub continent and it is good for all.
Why don't both of you discuss the Supreme Court judgment? . It is available HERE
The meet of Indian and Pakistan heads can be on the sidelines of events only. Will end with no bearings on the sideline meet. Unless Pakistan reconciles and agrees for unified Kashmir to be integral part of India as token for peace with India umpteen number of sending non-state actors across border to ask for united Kashmir to be part of India will be futile. Neither hundreds of other countries bother whether Kashmir is united or not.