India, Pak to Hold FS Level Talks Tomorrow for Trust-building

With an aim to bridge post 26/11 trust deficit and exploring ways to revive dialogue, foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan will be meeting on Thursday, said media reports.

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will fly to Islamabad along with Home Secretary GK Pillai on Wednesday for talks with their Pakistani counterparts.

During the visit, Rao will hold wide-ranging talks with her Pakisatani counterpart Salman Bashir covering an entire gamut of bilateral issues, including terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, confidence-building measures and the Indus water dispute, reports said.

According to reports, all issues are on table, including Jammu and Kashmir.

Terror will top the agenda of meeting from India’s viewpoint, said reports.

During delegation-level discussions, India will press for the speedy trial of seven 26/11 terror attacks suspects in Pakistan, concrete action against Hafiz Saeed, the suspected mastermind of the Mumbai carnage, and against those groups based in Pakistan nurturing anti-India agenda, reports said.

Besides, Rao will take up recent rise in cross-border infiltration and ceasefire violations which are marring the spirit of thaw that followed the summit talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Thimphu nearly two months ago.

Quoting official sources, reports said that India was going into these talks in ‘an exploratory, not an accusatory way’.

The talks between Rao and Bashir will set the stage for the crucial meeting between External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad July 15.

The foreign secretary-talks will be followed by a meeting between Home Minister P Chidamabaram and Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik Friday.

(Based on internet reports)