LD INDOPAK 2 LST

Qureshi said, "We are very serious about normalising our
relations with India. I met with my Indian counterpart in
Islamabad just day before yesterday (Friday). We agreed to
embark on a sustained dialogue process."
The decision to continue the talks is a "good augury,"
he said.
"For too long, Pakistan and India have been entangled in
a relationship of conflict. It is high time our two countries
engage, with full sincerity of purpose, to resolve all
bilateral disputes and make a new beginning of normal
relations anchored in sovereign equality and mutual interest,"
he said.
Qureshi said normal relations between Pakistan and India
will have "far-reaching salutary effects" for South Asia and
beyond.
"Pakistan will do its utmost to make this happen," he
said in his opening remarks at a meeting of officials of the
Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FODP) forum.
Sharp differences arose during talks between Qureshi and
his Indian counterpart S M Krishna here on Thursday over a
roadmap and timeframe for future engagements.
The two ministers engaged in verbal jousting after their
talks. Qureshi Friday claimed that the parleys had not gone
well because Krishna repeatedly received instructions from New
Delhi during the talks.
"It is the nature of India-Pakistan talks that
whenever there is progress, there is always a last-minute
hitch. There was no hitch from Pakistan's side," Qureshi said
Friday.
Krishna rejected Pakistan's contention that India was
not ready to discuss all issues and asserted that all "core"
and "burning" problems were deliberated upon with the aim of
reducing trust deficit.
Qureshi Saturday referred to a wide range of issues
during his speech at the FoDP meeting, including the situation
in Afghanistan and Pakistan's reconstruction efforts in parts
of the country affected by militancy and violence. PTI RHL
KAB


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