India and Pakistan are getting ready for a return to the negotiating table. The foreign secretaries of the two nations will meet in February, to prepare for a visit by Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to meet his Indian counterpart SM Krishna. Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao is likely to meet her Pakistan counterpart, Salman Bashir, on the sidelines of the SAARC standing committee meeting on February 6-7, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
MEA sources said that the “threads” from the last foreign ministers meet, in July last year, will be taken up during the meeting between Qureshi and Krishna. Bilateral talks had failed last year because of India’s insistence that Pakistan make concession on terrorism following the Mumbai 26/11 attacks. India has conveyed its willingness to talk about all the items on the composite dialogue, including Kashmir.