NEW DELHI, June 6: The foreign ministers of Pakistan and India spoke by telephone on Sunday and vowed to carry on their peace process. Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh told Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri that contacts between the two countries would be intensified and "both sides had vested interests in promoting good bilateral relations".

At a press briefing here, spokesman for the Indian External Affairs Ministry Navtaj Sarna said that Mr Natwar Singh told Mr Kasuri that in keeping with the well-articulated policy of the Indian government, the dialogue process would be carried forward in every area and contacts would be further intensified. The phone call was made by Mr Kasuri.

The spokesman quoted Natwar Singh as saying: "We hold the Pakistani leadership in the highest esteem" and "the future of Indo-Pakistan relations does not lie in the past".

Mr Kasuri fully reciprocated the views of his counterpart and thanked Mr Natwar Singh. Voicing full respect for responsible media on both sides, the two leaders agreed that distortions in the media should be ignored, the spokesman added.

Natwar Singh also quoted an Urdu couplet to his counterpart. Mr Kasuri commended the sentiments contained in the couplet. Kuch nahin to kam se kam khwab-i-sahar dekha to hai Jis taraf dekha na tha ab tak, udhar dekha to hai. -Reuters/ APP