ISLAMABAD, Aug 3: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri on Sunday expressed Pakistan’s desire for an early resumption of summit level talks with India.
Talking to newsmen at the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i- Azam) secretariat, the foreign minister hoped the talks would begin from the point where they had broken off at Agra.
He said a lot of ground work had been done in seven secretary level meetings held between the two countries before Agra summit and several issues had been discussed in the meetings and need not be repeated.
Moreover, he recalled, both President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Vajpayee had a marathon meeting spanning over 8 hours during which they had reached consensus on a number of contentious issues.
The foreign minister observed that while Pakistan wanted to initiate the peace process at the earliest India seemed to be moving rather reluctantly. He said: “We are ready to go slow if India wishes so and if they want to speed up then we are ready for a fast track dialogue too.”
About restoration of air links with New Delhi, he said Pakistan give priority to the revival of Samjhota Express because common people travel by land routes rather than the air and increased two-way flow of the people could ultimately help accelerate the process of talks.
To a query about his impending visit to Afghanistan, Mr Kasuri said: “I am going there on the invitation of Afghanistan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah to discuss and resolve the outstanding issues between the two countries.”
When asked about the allegations levelled by President Karzai that Taliban were making incursions into Afghan territory from Pakistani soil, Mr Kasuri said owing to such allegations Islamabad had moved troops on forward positions in Mohmand Agency and a trilateral commission comprising Pakistan, US and Afghanistan was watching the developments.
