Pakistan, India foreign ministers meet
By Anonymous (not verified) | Thu, 09/01/2005 - 19:46
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan : The foreign ministers of Pakistan and India Thursday began talks aimed at laying the groundwork for a meeting of their leaders later in September.
India`s Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and his Pakistani counterpart, Riaz Mohammed Khan, were expected to discuss eight issues agreed on as the framework for the peace process, the BBC reported.
These include the divided territory of Kashmir and economic cooperation.
They will review progress on issues such as Kashmir and set out a possible agenda for talks between their two leaders.
Ahead of the talks, Saran said there had been "noticeable progress" on some of the issues, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
The two foreign ministers, however, conscious that little movement has been seen on the more contentious points, particularly Kashmir, are expected to discuss and remove the irritants that have slowed the process.
Real progress may come on the Kashmir issue when Pakistan`s President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meet Sept. 14 on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly session in New York.
Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two of their three wars since independence over the region.
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