A day after the India-Pakistan talks, guarded optimism and refrain from trading charges in public were in full display in Thimpu on Monday -- while foreign secretary Nirupama Rao quoted from Shakespeare's King Lear, her Pakistan counterpart Salman Bashir spoke of broad meeting of the minds.
India is "cautiously optimistic" on charting a way forward in the dialogue process with Pakistan and would like to see the process to mature keeping in view ground realities, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said today.
Against the backdrop of the killing of some Tamil fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy, India is expected to convey its concerns and press for an end to such incidents when external affairs minister S M Krishna meets his counterpart G L Peiris in Thimpu on Monday.
Seeking a via media to carry forward the talk process, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao will hold discussions with her Pakistan counterpart Salman Bashir today late evening.
Jayanth Jacob reports.
Pak goes on offensive ahead of talks
Setting a positive tone ahead of their meeting in Thimphu, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir today said they would endeavour to find a way forward for continued engagement between the two countries.
Pak goes on offensive ahead of talks Six months after failure of talks, India and Pakistan will make a fresh attempt to "unlock" the bilateral dialogue process when Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her counterpart Salman Bashir meet on Sunday during which the Indian side is expected to seek an update on 26/11 probe and trial.
Pak goes on offensive ahead of talks
India today rejected Pakistan's attempt to link Mumbai attacks to the Samjhauta Express blast, saying there was "no comparison" between the two incidents and rubbished the contention that the pace of probe into the cross-border train attack had been slow.
Making a fresh attempt to restart the bilateral dialogue process, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir will meet on Sunday during which the Indian side is expected to seek an update on the Mumbai attacks investigations and trial.
Bhutan police can raid homes of smokers in a search for contraband tobacco and are training a special tobacco sniffer dog in a crackdown to honour a promise to become the world's first smoke-free nation.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today wrapped up his three-day visit to Bhutan which saw India and Pakistan agreeing to move ahead with the stalled peace talks.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday invited his counterpart Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan and the Indian leader responded by saying that he would love to.
The talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani have changed the climate between the two countries, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in Thimphu today.
Pitching for freer movement of goods, services and people across South Asia, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday warned the region that it faces the risk of “marginalisation and stagnation” if members fail to build SAARC as a group that is connected and empowered.
Following is the text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's opening statement at the Sixteenth SAARC Summit:
Notwithstanding India's insistence on action against Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, Pakistan today was non-committal on action against the mastermind of Mumbai attacks and several other terror strikes in India.