Foreign Secys to continue India-Pak talks

India and Pakistan have reached a tentative understanding on institutionalising the upcoming dialogue between the Foreign Secretaries...

India and Pakistan have reached a tentative understanding on institutionalising the upcoming dialogue between the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries as the new framework of conversation for mutual trust-building. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna is slated to visit Islamabad next week for the first formal Foreign Minister level meeting on July 15 between the two countries since the 26/11 terror attack.

Top government sources said that Pakistan has given its consent to keep the dialogue at the level of Foreign Secretaries going. This will replace the earlier Composite Dialogue format between 2004 and 2008.

Foreign Secretaries,Nirupama Rao and Salman Bashir,will discuss issues mutually agreed upon by the two sides,and priority demands will be conducted according to the prevailing situation. A final decision on this is yet to be taken and the Cabinet Committee on Security will be examining the proposed framework. Both sides are also looking at a possibility of the two Prime Ministers meeting on the sidelines of UN General Assembly in September.

Another issue which had stood in the way of talks was the joint secretaries from the Pakistan side not being as empowered to make decisions as their counterparts in New Delhi. Highly-placed sources said that the Foreign Secretary-level dialogue was to rectify this to a great extent.

Indian in Pak jail: Court directs plea to SG

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramanium to discuss with the government a plea for the release of an Indian prisoner lodged in a Pakistani jail for the past 22 years. The petition was filed by Anand Vir,whose brother Gopal Dass was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Pakistani authorities. Vir claims that Gopal completed his sentence in 2005 and was waiting for his release to be requisitioned by the Indian government.