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India and Pakistan leaders discuss resuming talks
The prime ministers of India and Pakistan had a rare encounter Thursday on the sidelines of a Non-Aligned Movement summit in effort to defuse tensions between the two nuclear powers after last year's terrorist attacks.
- Agencies
- Published: 16:14 July 16, 2009
- India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Pakistan's Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani during their meeting at the 15th Non-Aligned Movement summit in Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt on Thursday, July 16, 2009.
- Image Credit:
Sharm-El-Sheik: The prime ministers of India and Pakistan had a rare encounter Thursday on the sidelines of a Non-Aligned Movement summit in effort to defuse tensions between the two nuclear powers after last year's terrorist attacks.
The much anticipated meeting came after a seven-month freeze in the political dialogue between the two historic adversaries after a days-long assault by gunmen from Pakistan left 166 people dead in India's financial capital of Mumbai.
Talks over Kashmir, water issues and demilitarization ground to a halt after the attacks.
India's key demand has been that Islamabad prosecute those responsible. New Delhi has been reluctant to resume any kind of political dialogue.
Earlier this month India reacted with anger when a Pakistani court ordered the release of Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, the founder of the group India blames for the Mumbai siege.
At the inauguration of the Non-Aligned Movement summit Wednesday, the two prime ministers outlined their concerns.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said terrorists and those who aid them must be brought to justice.
His Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Gilani said peace in South Asia is achievable. Pakistan is keen to restart the talks.
India and Pakistan have been adversaries for decades. They have fought three wars, two over the disputed territory of Kashmir, since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.
In 2001, a suicide attack on the Indian Parliament pushed them to the brink of war again, but tensions eventually subsided. They began formal peace talks in 2004, but they were put on hold after the Mumbai attacks.
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