India agrees to resume Composite Dialogue: Qureshi
Pakistan
India agrees to resume Composite Dialogue: Qureshi
After a long stalemate, Pakistan and India agreed to resume the Composite Dialogue in the near future. This was stated by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi while briefing the newsmen after the meeting between Indian and Pakistani premiers in Bhutan today. The FM noted the trust deficit between both the countries, however added that the ambience of the meeting between the two PMs was positive and concluded on the same note, setting a ground for further talks to defuse the ongoing tension and boost bilateral ties. He also mentioned that Saarc Home Ministers meeting is scheduled to be held on June 26, 2010 in Islamabad and invited the Indian Home Minister for that. Q&A:Replying to a question on Mumbai accused, the FM said that trial is on, however added that the judicial process takes time and the procedure should be respected from either side.On new modalities between the two countries regarding the to-be-held talks, Qureshi said that the FMs of both the countries are entrusted to bridge the gap and as such all the outstanding issues that are of concern to India and Pakistan would be discussed. He said that Siachen would also be taken up, while being a common threat - terrorism would also hold an important place in the talks agenda. Answering a question regarding water shortage, the FM said that the whole region of South Asia is a water stressed area and a joint mechanism would be launched to address the current situation besides the water conservation. He maintained that Indian involvement in Balochistan would also be put on the dialogue table. He, however, did not give any timeline for the said dialogue. India pressurizing Pakistan: GoharFormer foreign minister Gohar Ayub said that India wanted to pressurize Pakistan in any way. He however said that India hinted at cold start in case a Mumbai-like situation emerged in it again. He said that the US could advise India but in a covert way as it would not take any dictation openly.
