On his way to US, Sinha dials Kasuri, confirms Feb talks

Before he left for the US today, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha called up his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, and b...

Before he left for the US today, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha called up his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, and both leaders agreed that the composite dialogue process will begin, as scheduled, in February.

However, South Block officials said, details will be worked out separately through diplomatic channels. During the call, which was the first contact between the two leaders after their interaction on the sidelines of the recently concluded SAARC Summit, Sinha thanked Kasuri for the courtesies extended in Islamabad and congratulated him for the success of the summit as well as the bilateral meetings between the two countries.

Both sides announced the decision to resume the composite dialogue process in February after a meeting between Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on January 6. This was followed up by a telephonic conversation between the two leaders before Vajpayee’s departure for Delhi.

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The breakthrough was achieved in Islamabad after Musharraf assured that Pakistani territory will not be used to support terrorism ‘‘in any manner’’. Describing it as ‘‘win-win situation’’, India had expressed hope that the efforts will bear positive results in due course of time.

Vajpayee had told the Pakistani President that violence, hostility and terrorism must be prevented if the peace process had to be taken forward though a sustained dialogue.

Pakistan has been insisting that the composite dialogue should be at the foreign secretaries’ level. It has also expressed fears that ‘‘bitterness’’ could set in if the talks were prolonged.

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