Islamabad, May 4: Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday said he would contact his Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna this month to suggest two sets of dates for a meeting to work out modalities for the resumption of dialogue between the two countries.

“My intention is to invite (Krishna) to Pakistan. We can sit together and take up things according to the responsibility entrusted to us by the two Prime Ministers and move forward,” Mr Qureshi said.
Mr Qureshi said in an interview to a TV news channel that if Mr Krishna is unable to visit Pakistan for any reason, he would be willing to go to India in the “spirit of engagement and take things forward”.
During their meeting on the sidelines of a Saarc summit in Bhutan last month, Prime Minister Manmohan and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani had decided that the foreign ministers should work out modalities for the resumption of talks between the two countries.
Asked if he expected a breakthrough in talks this year, Mr Qureshi said: “It is a good start that the suspended dialogue has resumed and after Budget session ends, I will contact my counterpart and propose dates for our engagement”.
The engagement with India will help Pakistan, whose focus is currently on the western border with Afghanistan, Mr Qureshi said. A large number of Pakistani troops are deployed on the Afghan frontier and “we want success and progress,” he said.
The resumption of talks with India will also improve Pakistan’s economy and help the country in achieving stability and tackling an ongoing energy crisis, he added. Mr Qureshi evaded a direct reply when asked if India and Pakistan had decided to give up the composite dialogue format for the resumption of talks.    —PTI

Rezaul H. Laskar