India-Pak Foreign Ministerial talks on July 27

NEW DELHI : Building on the official-level talks, Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan will meet here on July 27 to discuss all aspects of the bilateral relations, particularly focussing on issues like terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, trade and promotion of bilateral exchanges.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and newly-appointed Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Kher will hold day-long talks.
It will be preceded by a meeting of Foreign Secretaries of the two countries on July 26, it was officially announced today by the External Affairs Ministry. A similar statement was issued by the Pakistan Foreign Office in Islamabad.
A host of key issues including Jammu and Kashmir, India’s concerns over terror, Siachen, Sir Creek, trade, confidence-building measures and people-to-people contact will be discussed.
At the talks, India is expected to raise concern over the slow pace of 2008 Mumbai attack probe and trial in Pakistan.
The issue of Mumbai attacks came up during the talks between Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistan counterpart Salman Bashir in Islamabad last month.
In the meeting, India had pressed for “satisfactory closure” of the trial in Pakistan of Mumbai terror attack accused, saying it would help in normalisation of ties.
After a break since 26/11 attack, the two countries in February decided to resume talks on all bilateral issues, which were earlier being discussed under Composite Dialogue. Subsequently, talks were held at levels of Defence, Interior and Commerce Secretaries and other official levels. (AGENCIES)
US hopes Indo-Pak talks will make progress
CHENNAI, July 20: The US today said it was encouraged by resumption of talks between India and Pakistan and the upcoming meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the two neighbours was "another chance to make tangible progress". "As Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh put it so beautifully, I dream of a day, when while retaining our respective identities, one can have breakfast at Amritsar, lunch at Lahore and dinner in Kabul. That was how my forefathers lived," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar are scheduled to meet in Delhi on July 26-27. "I was very encouraged at reports of resumption of discussions between India and Pakistan... The upcoming meeting of Indian and Pakistani Foreign Ministers is another chance to make tangible progress..", Clinton said.
Addressing students and opinion makers here, Clinton also said "...None of us should tolerate safe haven for terrorists anywhere.. So we looked to the Pakistan Government to press insurgents to join the reconciliation process (in Afghanistan) to protect Pakistani territory from being used for attacks that destablisies Afganistan or India."
(http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/ 21.07.2011)