Pakistan has asked India to revive the composite dialogue as soon as possible, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir told the media on Friday.
"We want to take relations forward," Menon said in his opening remarks.
Three days after the foreign secretaries meeting, Pakistan on Sunday said it is ready to participate in the composite dialogue process with India provided there are no preconditions from the other side.
Pakistan has welcomed United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's remarks that New Delhi and Islamabad should settle the Kashmir problem bilaterally, and said it looked forward to resumption of the composite dialogue between the two countries to discuss the issue. "The two countries have agreed to discuss this issue bilaterally by agreeing to the composite dialogue framework. And Kashmir dispute is a part of that framework," said Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday said Pakistan will offer the Indian leadership an "olive branch" to resume the bilateral Composite Dialogue as both countries cannot afford war.
Notwithstanding Pakistan's repeated insistence on resumption of composite dialogue, India today ruled it out, saying going back to the same process did "not make sense" as "we have to learn from history".
The composite dialogue between India and Pakistan will resume on May 21 and the two countries will review progress made so far in confidence-building measures, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Wednesday. "We will review the results of the fourth round of talks (under the composite dialogue) and then plan the agenda for the fifth round to be held after this meeting," Qureshi said.
Pakistan on Tuesday said a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh would be useful to revive composite dialogue and fast track bilateral issues but made it clear that it is not expecting any major breakthrough.
He said, "We are not desperate. If India wants more time, it will find Pakistan ready for it". He said, "let us not discard the composite dialogue process". But included in that is the point that Kashmir continues to be the core issue between India and Pakistan, with Pakistan continuing to cater to its domestic constituency even as it has come to the talking table with India after a gap of 14 months.
Though the main focus of talks between Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and his Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir is on peace and security, Jammu and Kashmir and CBMs, other issues like release of prisoners, visa relaxation, trade and commerce will also come up for discussions.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has called for a 'composite dialogue' with India to address the contentious issues between the two sides.
Pakistan is playing a key role in facilitating talks between the US and Iran, but the future of these negotiations remains uncertain. Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, no dates have been set for a second round of discussions.
Indian benchmark stock indices, Sensex and Nifty, surged over 1 per cent, driven by optimism surrounding potential US-Iran peace talks and a significant drop in crude oil prices below the USD 100 per barrel mark. This de-escalation in geopolitical concerns and easing inflation pressures provided a substantial boost to investor sentiment.
In his address, Sharif praised US President Donald Trump, saying his "efforts for peace helped avert a ... war in South Asia".
For now, Yumnam Khemchand Singh's leadership will be judged not by promises or symbolism, but by whether his government can prevent further violence and begin the slow, difficult work of rebuilding trust.
'Once the actual scope is understood, it becomes evident that the framework is about internal redress and course correction, and in no way criminalisation.'
'This leading filmmaker told me: "Don't let the industry cake you up with makeup and wigs. You are a breath of fresh air".'
We continue to celebrate the Thalaiva's 75th birthday with Divya Nair's premiere playlist that celebrates his magnetic swag, emotion and larger-than-life persona.
Among Sensex firms, Hindustan Unilever dropped the most by 3.20 per cent. UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports, Titan, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were also among the laggards. However, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Bharat Electronics and Sun Pharma were among the gainers.
Reiterating that his country wants a purposeful dialogue with India for an early resolution of all outstanding issues, including and Kashmir and the river water sharing dispute, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said Islamabad is no hurry to hold talks with New Delhi.
Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran will head the Indian delegation at the two-day talks with his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammad Khan.
Seeking resumption of the composite dialogue process with India, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said such a move is in the best interest of the region.
Pakistan has said it will encourage the process of composite dialogue with India 'to reduce tensions and resolve all outstanding issues' between the two neighbouring countries.In a joint statement issued at the end of formal talks between visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and United States President George W Bush on Monday, the two sides said that the Pakistan-India composite dialogue process will be encouraged "to reduce tensions and build trust".
While re-vitalising these interactions, it should be our endeavour to expand the basket of issues of concern to India, which have arisen since the format of the composite dialogue was agreed upon when Atal Behari Vajpayee was the prime minister and which are not discussed specifically now, writes B Raman.
India and Pakistan have successfully completed two rounds of the Composite Dialogue.
Riaz Khan and Shyam Saran would be deliberating on Kashmir and peace and security.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has said opening the Siachen glacier for tourist trekking can affect the composite dialogue process between India and Pakistan.
The US on Tuesday asked India and Pakistan to continue with the composite dialogue process despite tensions in bilateral ties following the Mumbai terror attacks, saying it was important for the stability of the region.
Replying to a question in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said: "Canada has not deviated from its approach that supports efforts by both India and Pakistan to resolve Kashmir and other issues through the composite dialogue process."
'Bappi Lahiri was looking for a break so he and his father would meet me.' 'I told Director Bhisham Kohli about this promising young boy from Kolkata, and Bappi came over with his harmonium.' 'Bappi played this composition and Bhisham liked it immediately.' 'As we were discussing, I said I would give the words, and that's how I wrote this song.'
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi termed as a 'positive development' the Joint Statement issued last week after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Sharm-el Sheikh, Egypt, and said it needed to be taken forward.
Breaking the logjam in their ties, India and Pakistan on Wednesday announced that they have decided to engage in a "comprehensive" dialogue that will include peace and security and Jammu and Kashmir.
In the first high-level contact with Pakistan since the Mumbai attacks, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon met his Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir in Colombo on Thursday and rejected his suggestion for resumption of Composite Dialogue till Islamabad took credible steps to end terrorism.
India on Friday said the composite dialogue with Pakistan will be resumed after the new government there settles down, and pending confidence building measures between the two countries are implemented.
"I have expressed my desire to visit Pakistan as soon as the new government is in place and I am waiting for that," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told media persons in Washington on Tuesday. "I hope the new government will pick up the thread from where it was left by President Pervez Musharraf and we will continue this exercise," he added.
Manifesting the mindset of the Pakistan military and its intelligence arm, the Inter Services Intelligence, Retired General Ehsan Ul Haq, erstwhile chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff committee of Pakistan and former ISI director, has said that the Indo-Pakistan composite dialogue, now in limbo was 'a charade'.
It will be easy for the future government in Pakistan to maintain the peace process with India as considerable progress has been made in the composite dialogue process, outgoing Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said on Wednesday.
Emphasising on the need to resume stalled composite dialogue between Pakistan and India, President Asif Ali Zardari has said recent ceasefire violations along Line of Control should not be allowed to derail the normalisation process between the two countries.
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