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Journalism of Courage
A month after External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee went to Pakistan to review the dialogue process and push for its resumption, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureishi will be coming to India for a three-day visit from June 27 to 29.
Beginning Friday this week, Qureishi will have a slew of meetings with Mukherjee where a range of issues — including terrorism, Kashmir and trade — will be discussed.
The Pakistan Foreign minister is also likely to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pratibha Patil. Meetings with senior political leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani and Prakash Karat, are also on the cards.
Qureishi had, in Islamabad last month, showed his readiness for a “grand reconciliation” on outstanding issues. He had also evinced interest to meet the top brass of the Government and the political leadership to take the peace process forward and discuss ways to bring about “full normalcy” in India-Pakistan ties.
The two sides are also expected to discuss various confidence-building measures (CBMs), including the launch of a truck service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad and opening more routes for trans-LoC bus service.
The meetings will mark the second high-level contact between India and the new Pakistan Government in a month.
Qureishi will also visit Ajmer Sharif, Jaipur and Chandigarh before returning to Pakistan.
