Singh, Gilani to Meet Tomorrow

With Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh scheduled to meet his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Sharm-el-Sheikh tomorrow, there appeared some signs of thaw in relationship between the two sides.

In the scheduled meeting, the two leaders will review progress on Islamabad’s actions to punish the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks.

Today, Foreign Secretaries of the two countries held discussions on a whole range of issues including the detention and release of Jamaat-ud Dawah chief Mohammed Hafeez Saeed, believed to be the mastermind of the 26/11 attacks.

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir talked of a “tall order” after his 90-minute meeting with his counterpart Shivshankar Menon in the small hours of the day, shortly after the Indian official landed from Paris.

“We want to have a broad-based engagement. We want to turn the corner in our relationship. We have agreed to continue our conversation. There is a tall order. It is uphill.”