Lauding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's "statesmanship" and his "bold vision of peace and prosperity," Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani has said dialogue was the only way forward for peace in South Asia. Responding to Singh's statement in the Lok Sabha on the Indo-Pak joint statement of Egypt, Gilani reciprocated the "sentiments for peace" expressed by him and said terrorism was a common threat to the two countries.
What was the need for the indecent hurry shown by Dr Manmohan Singh at Sharm-el-Sheikh for fresh talks with Pakistan? If we had waited for a few months more till a clearer picture emerged from the proceedings of the anti-terrorism court, would the heavens have fallen on our heads, asks B Raman
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who addressed party Members of Parliament on Thursday, backed Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the joint statement signed between Pakistani PM Yusuf Raza Gilani and him in Sharm-el-Sheikh.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani had not handed over any dossier to him on Balochistan during their meeting in Egypt earlier this month. Intervening in a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the joint statement issued with Pakistan, Dr Singh said, "I categorically say no such dossier was given to me".Dr Singh met Gilani in Sharm-el Sheikh on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit.
What we need to understand is that when Pakistan feels cornered its leaders will seek assistance and sympathy and export mangoes; their purpose served, they will revert to form and export jihadis. The way to handle Pakistan is not through kind gestures and misplaced magnanimity; these are taken as signs of weakness and generally used to bargain for more.
Leader of opposition L K Advani on Tuesday led a delegation of 146 members of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and met President Pratibha Devisingh Patil to intervene in the row triggered by the joint-statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani at Sharm-el Sheikh, Egypt -- wherein the issue of Baluchsitan was mentioned for the first time.
Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani "gave his word" on Sunday to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz that his government will not extend any help to former president Pervez Musharraf to defend himself in any court of law as they agreed to bridge the "trust deficit" between the parties.
Pakistan on Thursday did not confirm or deny reports that it handed over a dossier to New Delhi on the alleged Indian involvement in the unrest in Balochistan, saying the issue involved intelligence matters which cannot be discussed in public. Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said the matter had been adequately covered by the joint statement issued after the meeting between Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh.
Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Thursday defended Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on the joint statement issued after his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Egypt.However, his statement had few takers, and most experts feel that the reference to Baluchistan in the joint statement would prove to be a costly blunder.The Bharatiya Janata Party has also criticised Dr Singh.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is unlikely to meet his Indian counterpart Dr. Manmohan Singh in Washington, where they are scheduled to attend the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on April 12 and 13.
Separately, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said during a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Store in Islamabad that Pakistan wanted its ties with India to normalise "by resolving bilateral disputes through a sustained and meaningful dialogue process."However, "engaging in talks for the sake of talks would serve no purpose," he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
Prime Minister Mamohan Singh on Friday defended the stance taken by the Indian government, in the joint statement issued with Pakistan, after his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Yosuf Raza Gilani at the sidelines of the Non-Aligned summit in Egypt.Dr Singh said that he had discussed the terror attack on Mumbai with Gilani, and stressed that sustained, effective and credible action needs to be taken by Pakistan to prevent terror activities on its soil.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt on Thursday.Sources indicate that while Dr Singh will seek a firmer commitment on tackling terror from his Pakistani counterpart, Gilani might rake up the contentious issue of Kashmir during the talks. The composite dialogue between India and Pakistan had come to a standstill after the terror attack on Mumbai in November
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday said he would hold talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the margins of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Egypt with an 'open mind' as he believed any 'pause' in bilateral dialogue would benefit terrorists. "If talks were on pause, that benefited the terrorists," Gilani told reporters in Islamabad before embarking on a four-day visit to attend the NAM summit.
Preparing the ground for the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Egypt, Islamabad has handed over a fresh dossier on its probe into the Mumbai terror attacks to New Delhi which is figuring out what it amounts to.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday took stock of the country's probe into the Mumbai terror attacks ahead of a crucial meeting with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in Egypt this week.
Against the backdrop of industrialised nations (G-8) putting curbs on full nuclear cooperation with countries like India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leaves for Paris on Monday hoping that the visit would help India and France "build" its strategic partnership in nuclear energy, defence and other areas.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will meet Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt on July 16, the Pakistan Foreign Office has said.Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said that the foreign secretaries of both countries would also meet during the summit.
The army operation against militants in Swat and Malakand division will soon be over but Pakistan will continue to fight terrorism and take the campaign to its "logical conclusion", Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday. "The nation will soon hear the good news... soon the army operation will be over.
India and Pakistan should end their "long legacy of hostility and distrust" and work towards a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Friday.
As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets President Asif Ali Zardari in Russia, premier Yousuf Raza Gilani has sought early resumption of the stalled dialogue process between India and Pakistan to address long-standing issues like Kashmir.
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.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is on shaky grounds, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is pro-America and Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani is doing well in taking military action against terrorists in his country, a top Republican Senator said on Monday.
Pakistan on Saturday strongly condemned the serial blasts in Delhi, terming those responsible as 'enemies of humanity'.In separate messages, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani expressed shock and grief over the loss of precious human lives.Gilani said the elements involved in such 'heinous acts are enemies of humanity'.
The sharing of river waters between India and Pakistan is a "sensitive issue" that has the potential for triggering a war between the two countries, an adviser to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani escaped an assassination bid in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.According to reports, two bullets were fired upon Gilani's motorcade. But the Pakistan PM escaped unhurt.
Members of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed and militants from South Waziristan tribal region are fighting alongside some 5,000 Taliban fighters in Pakistan's restive Swat valley, chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said on Friday.
Aiming at a "decisive" victory over the Taliban, Pakistan on Thursday pressed with air and ground operation in the north-western tribal belt, where fierce fighting killed nine soldiers and 14 militants, including a son of a hardline cleric who negotiated the Swat peace deal.
President George W Bush on Friday assured Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani of the US administration's continued support for the democratic government in Pakistan in the wake of former President Pervez Musharraf's resignation.
Even as it sought to 'internationalise' the Jammu and Kashmir situation, Pakistan said on Thursday it was committed to improving relations with India and resolving all outstanding issues in a just and peaceful manner for the progress and prosperity of the two countries.
A stable, secure and prosperous neighbourhood is a sine qua non for the emergence of a great power. India cannot be merely seen as free-riding on the outside powers for regional stability.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday left for Colombo to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation summit beginning on Saturday, during which terrorism is expected to be one of the main topics of discussion. Singh is expected to meet his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the summit and is likely to convey India's concerns over the recent spurt in cross-border terrorism and ceasefire violations.
Chief of Army staff General Deepak Kapoor on Sunday said it was important to ensure that the control of Pakistan's nuclear weapons command does not go to "wrong hands".
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".
In some blunt talking on Pakistan's role in fomenting terrorism in Kashmir, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has said the US should confront Islamabad on its funding of "mujahideen" groups in the valley and the terror camps running under its nose.
Ahead of his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Obama said historically Pakistan has tolerated or in some cases funded the Mujahideen because they think it's somehow helpful to them in Kashmir, which continues to be a "constant instigator" of tension between Islamabad and New Delhi.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday condemned the bomb attacks in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, describing them as 'acts of senseless violence against innocent persons'.A statement issued by the foreign ministry said: "Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has strongly condemned the acts of terrorist violence in the Indian cities of Ahmedabad and Bangalore and expressed deep sympathies with the bereaved families and the victims of these dastardly acts,"
Highlighting the need to root out terrorism, Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday told his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh that 'the present state of unrest in the region demanded more cooperation in combating the menace.Gilani telephoned Singh today to congratulate him on winning the crucial trust vote and said that his success "is the success of democracy and such democratic norms must be encouraged in the region for strengthening the relations."
Pakistan has said it could focus on American demands to do more in the war on terror only if the US used its influence with India to lessen tensions and to press for resumption of the stalled composite dialogue process.
Sharif told a television news channel in an interview on Thursday that Zardari, whom he has blamed for influencing the apex court's verdict, would not be able to complete his term. He did not give details.
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