Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss the progress in the composite dialogue process as well as to set the course of the peace maneuvers.
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon had met his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohd Khan in Islamabad in March this year.
In an impromptu decision, Musharraf ordered the release during an hour-long meeting with Indian Left party leaders Harkishen Singh Surjeet and A B Bardhan in Islamabad.
"Settlement of the Kashmir issue in line with the aspirations of the people of Kashmir will change the destiny of over a billion people of South Asia."
The foreign secretary arrives in Pakistan Saturday,two days before the second round of the composite dialogue process.
National security advisers of India and Pakistan are expected to meet in October to follow up on the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Gen Pervez Musharraf in New York.
There were warm handshakes and smiles as Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Khokhar posed for photographers at the majestic Hyderabad House before the negotiations.
The Indian government is reportedly ready to 'soften' the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir to enhance people-to-people contacts, despite concerns over the recent increase in infiltration and violence in the state.
India on Wednesday said even 'a few steps' by Pakistan in the Mumbai terror attacks probe will satisfy it and help in resuming the composite dialogue process.External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said India will be 'quite satisfied' with 'a few steps' by Pakistan in the course of the 26/11 investigations. This, he said, will "certainly make it easier for India to carry on normal business with Pakistan". Pak has been strongly advocating the resumption of the Indo-Pak talks.
The Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level talks to review the third round of composite dialogue process may be resumed on November 10
The two sides also signed an agreement covering duration and fare of the train service that will run on a two-way trip once in a week.
Also in the pipeline, are talks on more bus services.
The government is unwilling to get into another war of words on J&K and Indo-Pak ties through the media.
The external affairs minister said talks on the Kashmir issue cannot move forward till cross-border terrorism stopped.
New Delhi is looking forward to 'realistic progress' in the composite dialogue process when External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh meets his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid M Kasuri on September 5-6.
"Any agreement on Kashmir should be pursued with good intentions and sincerity keeping in mind the aspirations of the people of Kashmir to take this process forward," he said.
Terrorism and narco trafficking will be high on the agenda when Pakistan's Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah holds talks with India's Home Secretary V K Duggal from Monday. \n\n
Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran will undertake a 3 day visit to Islamabad from August 31 for taking stock of the Indo-Pak relations in the run-up to the meeting of the 2 foreign ministers.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will travel to Islamabad on Tuesday on a two-day visit during which she will hold talks with her Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz and attend a multilateral conference on Afghanistan.
India is unlikely to be granted the Most Favoured Nation status before 2014 Lok Sabha elections and resumption of composite dialogue between the two nations, Pakistan finance minister has said.
Composite dialogue likely to be formally revived; PM visit might also be marked with grant of trade MFN status. Nayanima Basu reports
Setting the terms for revival of the composite dialogue process with the Modi government, Pakistan on Monday made it clear that India should not shy away from dealing with "contentious" issues like Jammu and Kashmir and not lay down any preconditions for talks.
Pakistan has handed over to India a "new set of proposals" aimed at resuming the stalled bilateral dialogue and gradually addressing all longstanding issues, a media report said on Saturday.
India on Friday ruled out fixing a timeframe for resolving all pending problems with Pakistan, including the Jammu and Kashmir issue, under the composite dialogue framework.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif was taken into confidence on the issue when he met PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Monday to congratulate him on being elected president, Qureshi said.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will chair the inter-ministerial meeting at the Foreign Office in Islamabad on Wednesday to assess the Indian offer of talks, after which a clearer picture of Pakistan's response is expected to emerge.
Pakistan remains committed to the peace process and composite dialogue with India, which is now in its fourth round, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said.
Seeking resumption of composite dialogue, Pakistan has said that India must "act responsibly" and stop being negative or it too will lose interest in taking the peace process forward.
Accusing Pakistan of not being serious about punishing the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Saturday said India has provided enough evidence for their prosecution. He also made it clear that Pakistan was to be blamed for the suspension of the composite dialogue, after the terror strikes on Mumbai in November last year, and said it has to take the initiative for the resumption of the process.
India on Monday conveyed its concern to Pakistan over the recent spurt in border ceasefire violations and the attack on its embassy in Kabul for which ISI has been blamed.
Keen to take the peace process with Pakistan forward, India is expected to press for launch of more bus services across the Line of Control. India will also demand the early operationalisation of the truck service when the two sides resume the composite dialogue in Islamabad on Tuesday. The Foreign Secretaries will meet on Tuesday to set the agenda for talks between External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee & his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
"I am not saying that we rushing at Frontier Mail speed. We are not doing it. There is clear understanding on both sides that this process will have to pass the test of public opinion as well as opposition", Kasuri said.
India and Pakistan on Tuesday agreed to hold a third round of meetings on outstanding bilateral issues in next two to three months, after a small pause in the wake of the beheading of Indian soldiers by the Pakistani army in January.
Pakistan on Thursday said Most Favoured Nation status cannot be granted to India at a time when there is tension on the borders.
India is actively considering the Pakistani proposal on the talk schedule for remaining secretary-level meetings in the third round of resumed dialogue with dates on the crucial issue of water and Sir Creek being suggested ahead of the meeting between their prime ministers in New York in September.
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