Secretary-level talks with Pakistan on June 23-24

New Delhi: Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries will meet on June 23-24 in Islamabad, possibly setting the stage for talks between their foreign ministers later this year.

This would be their first engagement since they met in February in Thimphu, the Bhutanese capital, on the sidelines of the
SAARC summit.

The talks between the top diplomats could lead to the revival of political talks at the ministerial level since the failed talks in mid-July last year, officials said.

Earlier this year, the two neighbours had agreed to resume their comprehensive dialogue on all outstanding issues “in a constructive and forward-looking manner”.

A terse note put out by the Ministry of External Affairs said: “Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet in Islamabad on June 23-24, 2011 to discuss peace and security, including CBMs (confidence-building measures); Jammu and Kashmir; and promotion of friendly exchanges.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao recently underlined that India was committed to a dialogue with Pakistan, which resumed earlier this year after a hiatus of over two years. IANS