Date:29/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/29/stories/2008072982271500.htm

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No word yet on Manmohan-Gilani meeting

Nirupama Subramanian

However, the Foreign Ministers of India, Pakistan will meet at the SAARC summit

ISLAMABAD: There is no word yet of a bilateral meeting between the Indian and Pakistan Prime Ministers at the SAARC summit in Colombo, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

But the two Foreign Ministers would will meet on the summit's sidelines, spokesman Mohammed Sadiq said.

"About any other meeting, there's no confirmation. I do not know if there are any proposals. These things are worked out at the diplomatic level, and announced only when finalised," he said.

New tensions

New tensions have crept into the India-Pakistan relationship since the Indian Embassy blast, which that the Indian Foreign Secretary, Shiv Shankar Menon, articulated when he said the peace process “is under stress.”

Following that, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said at least twice last week that he was looking forward to a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Colombo to “discuss all issues.”

"Positive direction"

In response to several questions about the health of the India-Pakistan peace process, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said: “Essentially, I think the direction is positive.”

He said good relations between the two countries were in the interest of peace and stability in the entire region. “We need to do it for the region, for the millions of people living in this region and for the future generations,” he said, adding that it was in this spirit that Pakistan was approaching its dialogue with India.