NSAs of India and Pakistan to meet in New Delhi
10 Jul 2015
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif during their meeting on the sidelines of the twin summit of BRICS and SCO in Ufa, Russia, held talks on ways to tackle terror and remove other irritants that come in the way of improving bilateral ties.
"The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. They (Modi and Sharif) discussed issues of bilateral and regional interest," Pakistan foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary said. "They agreed that India and Pakistan have a collective responsibility to ensure peace and promote development in the region," he added. "Both leaders condemned terrorism in all its forms," Chaudhary said.
A statement issued after the meeting said the leaders agreed that India and Pakistan have a collective responsibility to ensure peace and promote development. To do so, they are prepared to discuss all outstanding issues.
Both leaders condemned terrorism in all its forms and agreed to cooperate with each other to eliminate this menace from South Asia.
The two prime ministers agreed on a five-point formula to tackle terror and improve ties between the two nations, Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar said.
The two leaders agreed on the following five points:
- NSAs of the two countries will meet in New Delhi to discuss all issues connected to terrorism;
- DG of BSF and DG Pakistan Rangers will meet at an early date, which will be followed by meeting of DGMOs;
- The two sides will release fishermen held in captivity in each other's jails, along with their boats, within a period of 15 days;
- Work out a mechanism for facilitating religious tourism; and
- Find ways and means to expedite the Mumbai case trial, including additional information like providing voice samples.
Jaishankar said Modi also accepted Sharif's invitation to attend the SAARC summit in Pakistan in 2016.
The talks between the two leaders, which began at around 9.20am local time, continued for an hour.
The Indian side also had National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. The Pakistani side had Sartaj Aziz, the country's top advisor on foreign affairs, besides other officials.
The meeting comes days after Modi telephoned Sharif on 16 June to convey Ramadan greetings and stressed the need for peaceful and bilateral ties.
Modi and Sharif had met in November last year during the SAARC Summit in Kathmandu, but they did not hold any bilateral meeting.
The two had held a bilateral meeting on 26 May last year during the swearing-in of Modi. The two had exchanged gifts, the sari-shawl diplomacy, and tweets, which had given rise to hope of improvement in ties between the two rivals, both nuclear powers.
But, since then, cease-fire violation on the border, which claimed the lives of security personnel, and the Pakistani envoy hobnobbing with Kashmiri separatists last August led to worsening of bilateral relations and India decided to call of peace talks with Pakistan.
Ties saw a further downswing after the release of 26/11 mastermind Zakiur-Rehman Lakhvi, ignoring India's concerns.
