Indo-Pak FMs meet to focus on action against terror: US

Washington, Jun 7 (PTI) US feels that Kashmir issue
won't be part of the agenda during talks between Foreign
Ministers of India and Pakistan next month as the meeting will
focus mainly on action against terrorism and the progress
Islamabad has made into the Mumbai attacks probe.
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central
Asia Robert Blake said: "I don't think Kashmir is really the
question that's on the table now."
He said the real question now is to get some progress
on the trial of the Mumbai suspects, those who are already in
custody in Pakistan and also see progress by Pakistan on
stopping actions by Lashkar-e-Taiba and other Punjab-based
terrorist groups against India.
"I think those are really the redlines that they've
established for really establishing or reestablishing their
composite dialogue. And so those are areas where I think we
can help and encourage our Pakistani friends to move forward,
and indeed we have," he told BBC in an interview.
Blake said the US was always interested in seeing if
peace can be enhanced between these two very important
partners of the US.
"But we have always said that it is really up to
India and Pakistan themselves to resolve this and that the
pace, scope and character of their dialogue is really
completely up to them," he said.
"So we are more in the mode of just encouraging peace
on both sides and encouraging both sides to address each
other's concerns as much as possible," he said.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna would visit
Islamabad on July 15 to hold talks with his Pakistani
counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi. The two leaders would
discuss terrorism and bilateral issues, including Kashmir.
India had put the Composite Dialogue process with
Pakistan on hold since the Mumbai attacks. In April, the
countries decided to resume dialogue at the level of Foreign
Ministers and Foreign Secretaries.
Prior to Krishna's visit, Home Minister P Chidambaram
would be in Islamabad later this month to attend the SAARC
Home Ministers meeting and would talks with his counterpart
Rehman Malik. Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao would accompany
Chidambaram during his visit.
The Home Minister is likely to get an update on
Pakistan's probe into Mumbai attacks. PTI