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India And Pakistan Relations 'On Right Track'
BBC NEWS, SOUTH ASIA
July 27, 2011: The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan have said relations between the countries are "on the right track". Foreign Minister of India SM Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar held talks in Delhi, the first such meeting between the two nuclear rivals in a year. The meeting came five months after the South Asian neighbors resumed bilateral discussions.
Talks were suspended after the 2008 Mumbai attacks which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants. But earlier this year, leaders vowed to resume their dialogue. No major breakthroughs were reached on contentious issues such as the Kashmir dispute and terrorism at the today’s talks but both sides said they would continue to try and narrow their differences, says the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi.
There were no major announcements except for increasing cross-border trade between Indian and Pakistani-administered Kashmir and easing travel regulations between the two areas. After the meeting, Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna said that he was confident that "our relations are on the right track". "We have reaffirmed our commitment to resolve all outstanding issues through a comprehensive, serious and sustained dialogue."
Ms Khar, Pakistan's newly appointed and first female foreign minister, said this was a "new era in bilateral co-operation between the countries". "A new generation of Indians and Pakistanis will see a relationship that will hopefully be much different from the one that has been experienced in the last two decades," she said.
But soon after her arrival in India on Tuesday, Ms Khar met with Kashmiri separatist leaders, a move that would not have gone down well with her hosts, correspondents say.
Disagreements between the two countries over the Kashmir issue have been the cause of three wars between them. India also wants Pakistan to take actions against militant groups based on its soil, especially those perceived to be behind the Mumbai attacks in which gunmen killed 165 people.
Since February, Indian and Pakistani officials have met to discuss a range of issues in an attempt to find ways to build trust and promote peace. There remains a huge amount of mistrust between the nations but, analysts say, for now it seems both governments appear committed to improving relations.
Last month, the foreign secretaries of the two countries held two days of talks where they agreed to discuss new nuclear confidence-building measures.
India has said it is "ready to discuss all issues with an open mind", and will push for justice for victims of the Mumbai attacks.
