Significant progress in Pakistan-India talks

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and India ended their latest round of peace talks yesterday, saying that they had made significant progress and had signed a pact on giving consular access to prisoners.
The Pakistani and Indian foreign ministers met in Islamabad to resume the slow-moving, four-year-old dialogue between the nuclear-armed rivals after it had been put on hold for several months by political turmoil in Pakistan.
“We made a lot of progress in our interaction and we hope to maintain this in the next round of talks which is expected in mid-July,” Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said at a joint Press conference with his Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee.
“Talks are progressing in a constructive manner on the issue of Kashmir,” Qureshi said.
Qureshi said the consular agreement would facilitate the early release of prisoners held in each others’ jails after they had been identified. Hundreds of detainees remain in prisons on both sides of the border.
The foreign ministers agreed to carry forward the composite dialogue and hold its fifth round in mid-July on an eight-point agenda that includes Kashmir, trade and anti-terrorism.
It was also announced that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will undertake his long over-due visit to Pakistan this year. The mutually convenient date for the trip would be worked out soon. Foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has accepted an invitation to visit New Delhi in June.
Qureshi said his Indian counterpart Parnab Mukherjee described their negotiations as fruitful, friendly and candid. Mukherjee said in his meetings with the new political leadership of Pakistan he found strong commitment to strengthen the peace process and carry forward bilateral dialogue for their mutual progress and development and making South Asia a region of peace and stability.
Mukherjee said India is keen to discuss and resolve all outstanding issues including Kashmir, terrorism and cross-border infiltration through bilateral dialogue. Even during his interaction with entire spectrum of Pakistan’s new leadership, he particularly emphasised the urgent need for enhancing economic ties by promoting trade and investment and creating an enabling atmosphere by amending their trade policies to mutual benefit. It has been decided to expand railway links and construct more facilities for this purpose in order to enhance trade. He referred to Indian import of Pakistani cement and said trade relations would be strengthened in other fields as well.