By IANS,
Islamabad: Discussions are under way between Pakistan’s home and foreign ministry officials on the agenda for the foreign secretary-level talks with India here next week, a media report said Saturday.
Apart from Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, Interior Secretary Chaudhary Qamar-uz-Zaman and other senior officials from both ministries are also involved in the consultations for the talks, slated for June 23-24, the Urdu daily Jang reported.
Pakistan’s High Commissioner Shahid Malik has also arrived from india ahead of the talks and met Malik Friday.
According to the report, the Indian side is likely to inquire about progress in the trial of 26/11 Mumbai attack masterminds as well as raise the matter of Pakistani American Daood Gilani, aka David Coleman Headley’s revelations about the role of the Pakistani spy agency ISI in the terrorist outrage.
The talks between the Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries, their first since a meet in February on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in Bhutan, could possibly set the stage for talks between their foreign ministers later this year.
Earlier this year, the two neighbours agreed to resume their comprehensive dialogue on all outstanding issues “in a constructive and forward-looking manner”.
According to India’s external affairs ministry, the agenda for the meet would include “peace and security, including CBMs (confidence-building measures), Jammu and Kashmir, and promotion of friendly exchanges”, Jang said.