Qureshi hopes meeting with Krishna will yield positive results

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday expressed hope that his upcoming meeting with his Indian counterpart on sidelines of the UN General Assembly would yield positive results and will help make "incremental progress" in bilateral relations.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday expressed hope that his upcoming meeting with his Indian counterpart on sidelines of the UN General Assembly would yield positive results and will help make "incremental progress" in bilateral relations.

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Qureshi said he did not attach "high hopes" to the forthcoming meeting in New York later this month but there are chances of making "incremental progress" during his talks with External Affairs Minister SM Krishna.

Reiterating Pakistan's desire to normalise relations with India and to reduce tensions between the two countries, Qureshi told reporters in his hometown of Multan that a positive response from India is vital to move ahead.

The terror attacks in Mumbai were condemnable but the two countries "cannot afford to remain at a standstill on this point," he said. Pakistan is studying India's latest dossier on the attacks and will send its response within a week, he added.

Pointing to the need to move forward in bilateral relations, Qureshi said Indian intellectuals and think tanks have called for the resumption of the dialogue process between the two countries.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too has stated that dialogue is the only way forward, he said. Any other option would be "dangerous and suicidal," he said.