July 10, 2015
News
Nawaz, Modi decide to revive stalled dialogue
Indian PM to visit Pakistan in 2016 for SAARC summit
INPUFA, Russia – Pakistan and India on Friday decided to revive the stalled dialogue process as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi agreed to cooperate with each other.
In their first bilateral talks in over an year, both the prime ministers met for nearly one hour here on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and discussed entire gamut of issues between the two countries.
The two leaders warmly shook hands and posed for the shutterbugs before settling down for the talks. In a brief talk with the media, Prime Minister Nawaz expressed satisfaction over his meeting with the Indian prime minister and said that the meeting was held in a cordial environment.
At a joint press meet, Foreign Affairs Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry and India’s External Affairs Secretary S Jaishankar read out a joint statement on the outcome of the much-anticipated meeting between the two leaders. Modi also accepted Nawaz Sharif's invitation to visit Pakistan for the SAARC summit next year.
Advisers to meet in New Delhi
“They agreed that Pakistan and India have a collective responsibility to ensure peace and promote development. To do so, they are prepared to discuss all outstanding issues,” the statement said. Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will meet in New Delhi to discuss all issues, the statement said.
Both the sides also agreed to hold early meetings of the heads of the Pakistan Rangers and India’s Border Security Force followed by that of the directors general of the Military Operations. It was decided to release fishermen in each other’s custody, along with their boats, within a period of 15 days.
A mechanism for facilitating religious tourism will also be worked out, as per the five-point steps to be taken by the two sides. Aizaz said that the two prime ministers condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They agreed to cooperate to eliminate this menace from South Asia. He said that the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere.
Foreign Office statement
In Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesman told newsmen that the meeting between the two leaders was a positive development. He expressed the hope that it would have a positive impact on bilateral relations between the two countries. He said that the international community was also interested in improvement of relations between Pakistan and India because it would benefit not only the peoples of the two countries but also the whole region.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk