Pakistan said on Thursday that Islamabad and New Delhi are working on the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Dr Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session.
“Both the countries are in touch and working out the date. The meeting will provide a useful opportunity to remove the existing trust deficit in relations,” foreign office spokesperson Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said at his weekly media briefing.
Emphasising the need for dialogue for settlement of outstanding issues, he said disruption of dialogue benefits only those who do not want peace. The comments from Islamabad on Thursday have come even as there is no official word yet from New Delhi on the two sides discussing such a meeting.
However, there were indications that the meeting between the Prime Ministers could be discussed and a schedule decided when external affairs minister Salman Khurshid meets the Pakistan Prime Minister’s national security and foreign policy adviser Sartaj Aziz in Kyrgyztan on September 13.
Both the leaders will be in Bishkek, Kyrgyztan, to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet there and are expected to meet on its sidelines.
On the tension at the Line of Control (LoC), Mr Chaudhry said Pakistan has expressed grave concerns over the violations on the LoC by India and urged it to respect the 2003 ceasefire agreement.
He warned that any military attack on Syria will have serious consequences and plunge the already volatile region into deeper conflict.
Mr Chaudhry said the approach to address the Syrian situation should be guided by principles enshrined in the UN charter like respect for sovereignty territorial integrity, non-interference in internal matters and resolution of disputes through peaceful manner.
He said Islamabad remains opposed to the use of force and urges maximum restraint from all sides and dialogue among Syrians for peaceful solution of the problem.