ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office said on Thursday it had sought clarification from New Delhi of its proposal for talks at the level of foreign secretaries.
A senior foreign ministry official told Dawn that clarifications had been sought about the content and agenda of the proposed talks.
India has proposed a meeting between foreign secretaries of the two countries, but has suggested no agenda.
Diplomatic observers here are of the opinion that India would like the talks to focus on terrorism as against Pakistans desire of resumption of full-scale Composite Dialogue which was suspended after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
However, the proposal is seen here as a sign of thaw in relations between the two countries.
If India dispenses with its traditional inflexibility there is a possibility of moving ahead, FO spokesman Abdul Basit said, alluding to Indias hard-line stance of talking to Pakistan only on terrorism-related issues.
Pakistan has always believed that it is only through genuine and meaningful talks that Pakistan and India can resolve their bilateral disputes. Talks should be all-encompassing and result-oriented. We will, therefore, welcome resumption of the Composite Dialogue, he said.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told TV channels that depending on the response to Pakistans queries from India, Islamabad would like an early resumption of talks. We would like to restart from where we left off, he said, referring to the Composite Dialogue whose fifth round had started in July 2008 before being stalled.
There are now signals emanating from India that they are willing to talk bilaterally, Mr Qureshi told Reuters. We welcome this ... if it leads to resumption of the Composite Dialogue.
Talking to a foreign news agency, the FO spokesman denied the government had been informed officially about Indian Home Minister P. Chidambarams visit to Pakistan to attend a conference of South Asian interior ministers scheduled for Feb 26 and 27.
We have not received a final communication nor is there any information with South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) secretariat about the visit, Mr Basit said. We have just seen reports in the newspaper about the visit but still dont know officially about it, he added.
It is expected that the visit of Mr Chidambaram will set off fresh talks. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh are likely to meet on the sidelines of a Saarc summit to be held on April 28 and 29 in Bhutan.
A senior foreign ministry official told Dawn that clarifications had been sought about the content and agenda of the proposed talks.
India has proposed a meeting between foreign secretaries of the two countries, but has suggested no agenda.
Diplomatic observers here are of the opinion that India would like the talks to focus on terrorism as against Pakistans desire of resumption of full-scale Composite Dialogue which was suspended after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
However, the proposal is seen here as a sign of thaw in relations between the two countries.
If India dispenses with its traditional inflexibility there is a possibility of moving ahead, FO spokesman Abdul Basit said, alluding to Indias hard-line stance of talking to Pakistan only on terrorism-related issues.
Pakistan has always believed that it is only through genuine and meaningful talks that Pakistan and India can resolve their bilateral disputes. Talks should be all-encompassing and result-oriented. We will, therefore, welcome resumption of the Composite Dialogue, he said.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told TV channels that depending on the response to Pakistans queries from India, Islamabad would like an early resumption of talks. We would like to restart from where we left off, he said, referring to the Composite Dialogue whose fifth round had started in July 2008 before being stalled.
There are now signals emanating from India that they are willing to talk bilaterally, Mr Qureshi told Reuters. We welcome this ... if it leads to resumption of the Composite Dialogue.
Talking to a foreign news agency, the FO spokesman denied the government had been informed officially about Indian Home Minister P. Chidambarams visit to Pakistan to attend a conference of South Asian interior ministers scheduled for Feb 26 and 27.
We have not received a final communication nor is there any information with South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) secretariat about the visit, Mr Basit said. We have just seen reports in the newspaper about the visit but still dont know officially about it, he added.
It is expected that the visit of Mr Chidambaram will set off fresh talks. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh are likely to meet on the sidelines of a Saarc summit to be held on April 28 and 29 in Bhutan.
