India asks Pakistan to give new dates for Home Secretary-level talks

New Delhi, Apr 8 (ANI): Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh on Monday said that they have asked Pakistan to give new dates for the Home Secretary-level talks between the two countries.

India has urged Pakistan to propose new dates after the conclusion of Budget Session of Parliament on May 22.

"We have asked for fresh dates. We have asked for dates after the Parliament session," he told the media here.

The latest development in this regard comes a day after the hectic daylong visit of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to India.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, discussed the problem of terrorism with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari here on Sunday, and mentioned the activities of Hafiz Saeed in context of bringing the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks to justice.

Both Dr. Manmohan Singh and Zardari in their discussions noted that there had been steady progress in the dialogue process, which was restarted last year.

"Dialogue process will continue as planned in the months to come. PM expressed appreciation of the fact that Pakistan has moved forward on trade related issues. Both leaders felt that we should tap into the considerable potential of bilateral, economic and trade ties. The issue has been discussed by the Commerce Ministers and Commerce Secretaries and there is a road way forward, which has already been identified," Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told the media here on Sunday, while briefing about the meeting that took place between the leaders of the two neighbouring nations.

Stating that it was evident from the conversation both countries consider the dialogue process and the improvement of bilateral relations as being in the mutual interest of the people of India and Pakistan, Mathai said: "The leaders also felt that priority needed to be given to issues of people-to-people contacts. In this context, they decided that a liberalized visa agreement, which has been worked out should be signed during the next meeting of the Home/Interior Secretaries."

India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947, have been slowly trying to repair relations and agreed to resume formal peace talks broken off in the wake of the Mumbai attack in 2008. (ANI)