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Pakistan, India hold first round of talks
Pakistan and India signed a pact on Wednesday granting consular access to prisoners in each other's jails but reported no significant progress in negotiations on the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
- AP
- Published: 18:08 May 21, 2008
Islamabad: Pakistan and India signed a pact on Wednesday granting consular access to prisoners in each other's jails but reported no significant progress in negotiations on the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Foreign ministers of the nuclear-armed neighbors on Wednesday held their first round of peace talks since a new civilian government took power in Pakistan seven weeks ago.
India's Pranab Mukherjee said that in his discussions with Pakistani leaders in Islamabad he "found a strong willingness and desire on the Pakistan side to move ahead toward full normalization of our relationship."
At the same news conference, Pakistan's Shah Mehmood Qureshi said it was in the "common interest" of both countries to continue the dialogue initiated in early 2004. He said it had benefited people on both sides.
But Qureshi said despite positive developments, including growing bilateral trade now worth US$2 billion annually, "we have not made significant progress on our core issues."
He specifically referred to their dispute over Kashmir, which both countries claim.
In a sign of how tensions have eased between longtime enemies, the sides signed an agreement granting consular access to prisoners in each other's jails.
Qureshi said that a fresh round of the peace talks, covering issues including Kashmir, the military standoff at the high-altitude Siachen Glacier, terrorism and drug trafficking, and economic cooperation , would start in July.
Mukherjee said Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had accepted an invitation to visit Pakistan. Qureshi said the visit would take place this year.
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