India and Pakistan hold 'positive' talks

Islamabad, Sep 7 (PTI) The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan met here today to discuss all aspects of the resumed dialogue, apart from reviewing the entire expanse of the discussions held so far, ahead of a meeting between their Foreign Ministers tomorrow. Both India and Pakistan maintained that the talks, lasting for over two hours, were "positive" and "frank". "Talks were positive and very good. We had an overview of issues before Foreign Minister-level talks and now we will brief our Ministers," Pakistan Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani told PTI here. The talks between Jilani and his Indian counterpart Ranjan Mathai was a preparatory meeting to finalise the agenda for the parleys between External Affairs Minister S M Krihna, who arrived here today, and Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar. MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said, "The talks were cordial, frank and very positive. They discussed all aspects of the resumed dialogue and reviewed the entire expanse of the discussions held so far". He said that the two sides acknowledged that progress has been made in bilateral relations but agreed that "much more needs to be done". The Foreign Secretaries also reviewed the outcome of the working group of the Joint Commission, held yesterday, and will now report to their Ministers, Akbaruddin said. In today's meeting, the Indian delegation, led by Mathai, included Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal, Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Yash Sinha, and other senior officials. The Pakistan delegation was led by Jilani and consisted of High Commissioner to India Salman Bashir, Director General (South Asia) at the Pakistan Foreign Office Zehra Akbari and others. Both Ministers will also co-chair the Joint Commission Meeting tomorrow, which was revived in 2005 after a gap of 16 years. This is Krishna's second visit to Pakistan in over two years. Indian officials say that terrorism will form the core of New Delhi's discussions, particularly the slow pace of the Mumbai attack case trial. Other issues likely to figure in the talks include those concerning prisoners as well as trade and border issues. PTI