ISLAMABAD (Online) – Foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet next month to discuss the details of the comprehensive bilateral dialogue that was announced during Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Islamabad earlier this week.
Indian Foreign Secretary Sushma Swaraj had announced in Islamabad that India and Pakistan will resume comprehensive bilateral dialogue. “India and Pakistan are ready for talks. How this dialogue can be taken forward – the schedule and modalities will be decided in due course,” she had said after meeting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz.
As per joint statement the discussions will involve “peace and security, CBMs, Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen… Economic and Commercial Cooperation, Counter-Terrorism, Humanitarian Issues, People to People exchanges and religious tourism.
“The Indian side was assured of the steps being taken to expedite the early conclusion of the Mumbai trial,” the joint statement read.
It was the first visit by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in three years and came after a surprise meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif in Paris two weeks ago on the sidelines of the climate change conference..
The meeting between the two premiers had led to secret talks between the National Security Advisers of both countries in Bangkok on Sunday.
