Describing the Mumbai terror attack as a setback that paused the Composite Dialogue with India, Pakistan on Wednesday expressed confidence that 'this hiccup' in the bilateral ties will be overcome. "This unfortunate incident has been a setback... to the extent that our Composite Dialogue is at a pause at the moment," Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said.
Apparently trying to dabble in internal rivalry in the Hurriyat, Pakistan has invited hardline leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani as the 'Chairman' of the amalgam along with six other Kashmiri separatist leaders for a meeting in Islamabad later this month.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Islamabad would discuss all issues with India at the upcoming talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries in New Delhi.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi seems to be in a denial over failure in getting a commitment from the US the civilian nuclear deal.
Pakistan and China strongly feel that India should not become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, as it would disturb the balance of power in the region, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Friday.
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.
Ahead of a possible meeting between their prime ministers in Thimphu, Pakistan on Tuesday said it wanted the resumption of composite dialogue with India at the political level, as the outcome of parleys between the foreign secretaries had been 'disappointing'."I don't think a forward movement can take place at the foreign-secretary level," Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said, adding, "If you want real progress, it will have to come from the political leaders"
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday said that India has so far failed to respond to Islamabad's overtures on restarting the stalled composite dialogue process. Speaking in an interview to a TV channel, Qureshi reiterated that Islamabad wants New Delhi to respond and engage in a meaningful and constructive manner."I have always welcomed a meeting, but it has to be a meaningful meeting. It has to be a dialogue which is result oriented," he said.
With investigators suggesting involvement of some Hindu outfits in cross-border Samjhauta Express train blast, the issue is all set to figure in the Indo-Pak Foreign Ministerial and Home Secretary-level talks next week.
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.
Putting the onus of resumption of dialogue on India, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday said he was ready to meet his Indian counterpart S M Krishna anywhere at anytime and was even willing to fly back to New York on Thursday if he has time.
Stepping up its offensive over Kashmir, Pakistan on Tuesday harped on giving the people there the right to 'self-determination' through 'plebiscite' and accused Indian security forces of 'brutality.'
Pakistan on Tuesday said it wants 'all bilateral issues,' including Kashmir, to be discussed at the foreign secretary-level talks on Thursday and feels much progress would not be made if India restricts the dialogue to a 'narrow agenda' of terrorism.
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 President Pervez Musharraf will pay a six-day state visit to China from April 10, his first foreign trip since the new coalition government took over, during which several bilateral agreements are expected to be signed. New Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar will accompany Musharraf during the visit. It will also be the first trip abroad by the new ministers.
Close on the heels of President Obama's announcement of the revamped Afghan strategy, Pakistan has said that it is concerned about the negative implications of the new US policy in Afghanistan.
The startling revelation by Pakistan's former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi that Raymond Davis, who allegedly killed two Pakistani citizens, does not enjoy blanket diplomatic immunity could lead to the conviction of the American national. Under such circumstance, paying Diyya (blood money) to the victims' families may be the only way for Davis, who has been charged for the murders under Pakistani law.
Pakistan termed as "presumptuous" India's contention that enough was not being done in the Mumbai attacks case on Sunday, saying the two countries would understand "each other's challenges and difficulties" only through engagement.
K Alan Kronstadt, a specialist in South Asian affairs for the US Congressional Research Service, on how more US oversight on funding to fight terror in Pakistan could help both countries and even India.
Pakistan on Friday claimed that any talks between the Indian government and separatist Kashmiri leaders will not be successful without its involvement.
US President Barack Obama is expected to sign into law on Wednesday, the Kerry-Lugar bill for US $ 7.5 billion aid to Pakistan after two powerful Congressional committees issue an "explanatory statement" addressing concerns of its opponents, mainly the Pakistan Army.
India's latest offer of talks has been taken up by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
India's latest offer of talks has been taken up by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, while talking to reporters at the airport in his hometown of Multan on Saturday, described the cooperation between the two countries "as the key to ensuring successful prosecution of the culprits" involved in the Mumbai attacks.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi stated this after a meeting with visiting NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who sought deepening cooperation and developing political dialogue between Pakistan and the European military alliance to achieve common strategic objectives. Any 'activation on the eastern border' would affect Pakistan's involvement in the war on terror, Qureshi told a joint press conference after their talks.
In an interview with Outlook magazine, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in an apparent volte-face, said Pakistan actually never handed any dossier to India during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the NAM summit at Sharm-el-Sheikh in July.
Pakistan on Thursday strongly condemned the terror strikes in Mumbai and offered complete cooperation and support to India to fight the menace.
Briefing leaders from PoK on its Kashmir policy ahead of crucial meetings with India to review the composite dialogue process, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi noted that the issue had remained "unresolved despite several attempts at bilateral and multilateral levels" over the last six decades. Pakistan "was ready to engage with India in a constructive dialogue to find a solution that is acceptable to all parties, in particular the people of Kashmir," he was quoted.
Pakistan intends to invite External Affairs Minister S M Krishna to Islamabad where it will make "certain proposals" to bridge the "trust deficit" between the two countries.
The United States has rejected Pakistan's request to mediate between it and India to help both resolve outstanding issues, including Kashmir and the river water sharing dispute. During a joint media interaction with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear that Washington would continue with its "hands off" policy concerning the Indo-Pak impasse.
Addressing a joint press conference in Washington along with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that over the next few days the strategic talks will focus on Pakistan's energy and water needs.
It seems that the Sharm-el-Sheikh controversy and Congress party's politics over it has hit the Prime Minister's Office. A source in the government is underplaying the September 27 meeting between Union External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in New York.
Warning that terrorists wanted to sabotage the Indo-Pak peace process, Pakistan on Sunday said the two countries should not allow extremists to dictate terms to them.
Top Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud may have been killed in an American drone attack in South Waziristan in Pakistan's restive tribal belt. Quoting unnamed senior administration officials, the popular ABC News said United States and Pakistani officials now believe that Baitullah Mehsud, head of the Pakistani Taliban, was 'very likely' killed. "There is reason to believe that reports of his death may be true, but it can't be confirmed at this time," an American official said.
Rejecting India's demand to extradite the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks to the country, Pakistan has said such a move will be 'harmful' for it as there was no extradition treaty between the two neighbours. Qureshi said Pakistan had conducted its own 'independent investigations' into the charges of Pakistani elements involved in the Mumbai terror strikes and that it will do everything in the interests of India and Pakistan.
Pakistan said on Saturday night that its "hands are clean", it had nothing to hide and that it is not involved in the Mumbai terror attacks but offered unconditional support and assistance to India to unearth the hands behind the incident.
Iran and Pakistan recently signed an export deal that commits Tehran to selling natural gas to Islamabad from 2014.
The United States on Thursday said it will make sure that justice is delivered to the perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and that it has conveyed the same to Pakistan government.
The security situation in South Asia could get further complicated if the United States agrees to have a civilian nuclear deal with Pakistan, according to experts. Pakistan and the US are set to hold their first high-level strategic dialogue this week in Washington, co-chaired by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Pakistan wants a nuclear deal with the US on the lines of the ndo-US nuclear deal.
Pakistan said on Tuesday that it had given a "blank cheque" to China to play a role in improving the Indo-Pak ties and it is for India to decide whether they would be comfortable with Beijing acting as a "third party".
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