Indo-Pak PMs, FMs bilaterals on SAARC sidelines

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be meeting his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit to be held in the Maldives next week.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be meeting his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit to be held in the Maldives next week.

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The meeting will come within days of an Indian Army chopper straying into Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) last week due to bad weather, an incident which was amicably resolved in record time by the two countries, surprising many.

"The two Prime Ministers are going to meet as both sides have sought bilaterals. The dates for such a meeting are being worked out," official sources said in New Delhi on Tuesday.

External affairs minister SM Krishna is also likely to meet his Pakistani counterpart Heena Rabbani Khar, the sources said.

The proposed meetings would provide a fresh impetus to the renewed peace efforts between the two countries, they said.

Singh is likely to meet other heads of governments of the eight SAARC countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan on the margins of the 17th SAARC summit on 10-11 November.

This will be the second meeting between Singh and Gilani in 2011 after March 30 when Gilani had accepted Singh’s invitation to visit Mohali to watch the Pakistan-India cricket World Cup semi-final.