Pak to approach talks with India with 'open mind'

Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Feb 18 (PTI) Pakistan Foreign Secretary
Salman Bashir on Thursday said he would approach his upcoming
meeting with his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao next week
with an "open mind" as Islamabad wants to normalise its
relations with New Delhi.

During a meeting with visiting US Special Representative
for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke,
Bashir said Islamabad was "looking forward to a meeting with
his counterpart in New Delhi on February 25 with an open
mind".
"Pakistan wanted its relations with India to
normalize. Accordingly, Pakistan would like its engagement
with India to be irreversible and meaningful, leading to the
resolution of all bilateral issues and disputes as provided
for in the composite dialogue," Bashir was quoted as saying in
a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
Peace between Pakistan and India is necessary for
peace and stability in the region as a whole, Bashir added.
Pakistan recently accepted India’s offer for Foreign
Secretary-level talks.
However, the two sides continue to have differences
over the agenda for the upcoming parleys.
India has indicated that it wants to focus on
terrorism while Pakistan has been pushing for the resumption
of the composite dialogue, which has been stalled since the
2008 Mumbai attacks. (MORE) PTI RHL
PRS



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