India, Pak optimistic about taking dialogue process forward
A day after their meeting here aimed at restoring the dialogue process, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistan counterpart Salman Bashir on Monday struck a note of optimism and talked about taking the engagement process forward through a 'vision' for the bilateral relationship.
Both Ms Rao and Mr Bashir described their 90-minute meeting as useful and expressed satisfaction over their discussions which covered a broad range of issues.
"We had a good meeting, useful meeting. We were able to discuss a number of issues of relevance with the (Indo-Pak) relationship," Ms Rao told reporters here.
She said her discussions with Mr Bashir were not dominated by any one issue 'but we talked about the (dialogue) process and charting the way forward, what the best modalities would be' in this direction.
"All in all it was a useful meeting," Ms Rao said, adding that both the sides had adopted an open and 'constructive attitude'.
"I'm satisfied."
Asked about the next step, she said, 'we need to wait and see'.
"We have to wait for this process to mature. We should be optimistic, cautiously optimistic because there are many issues that remain to be resolved," she said.
Pointing out that the nature of India-Pakistan relationship had been complex, Ms Rao said, 'we have to remain realistic. We should be aware of the realities."
She emphasised the need for a 'vision' for the future of the relationship and noted that this was the feeling of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Mr Bashir, she said, had told her that his government also was committed to taking forward the dialogue process on outstanding issues in a constructive way. The Pakistan Foreign Secretary separately told reporters that 'there was a broad meeting of minds' during his meeting with Ms Rao and he had 'every reason to be quite satisfied'.
"We have had very productive exchange of views. We will be reporting respectively to our governments and then take it from there," he said.
Asked whether 2007 Samjhauta Express blast issue came up during the meeting, Bashir was evasive. Ms Rao said 'all' outstanding issues were discussed.
Mr Bashir pointed out that when the Prime Ministers of the two countries met in Thimphu in April last on the sidelines of Saarc Summit, they had agreed on three things.
"One was to have frequent contacts. We have had frequent contacts. The second was that we should make effort to bridge the trust divide. I think, we have to a considerable extent been able to do that. And third was that everything should be discussed. That is the format that we are pursuing," he said.
He said there is consensus at the leadership level and between the two foreign ministries that 'that is the practical way forward'.
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