Pak hopes for 'constructive' Indian attitude at FS talks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today said it is going to the upcoming Foreign-Secretary level parleys with India with an "open mind" and was hopeful of a "constructive attitude" from it so that the stalled peace process can be resumed.

Referring to the upcoming meeting between the Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and India on the margins of the SAARC Council of Ministers meeting in Bhutan, Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit said, "Pakistan is going to Thimphu with an open mind".

He added, "We hope India also will come to the meeting with a constructive attitude so that a comprehensive, sustained and result-oriented dialogue process can be resumed".

Pakistan, Basit said, has "always strived for normal and good neighbourly relations with India".

"To this end, it is necessary that all the outstanding issues between the two countries, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, are resolved through dialogue," he said.

The Foreign Secretaries are expected to meet during February 6-7 to discuss ways to revive the peace process that has been stalled since the Mumbai attacks in November 2008.

The parleys are expected to pave the way for Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's visit to India in March.

India suspended the composite dialogue process in the wake of the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.

It has linked the resumption of dialogue to Pakistan taking action against the perpetrators of the attacks and winding up terrorist infrastructure on its soil.

Pakistan has been pressing for the unconditional resumption of the composite dialogue to resolve all outstanding matters, including what it describes as the "core issue" of Kashmir.