Pak seeks resumption of composite dialogue with India

ISLAMABAD: Ahead of a meeting between Prime Ministers of the two countries on the margins of NAM summit in Egypt later this month, Pakistan on Thursday sought resumption of the stalled composite dialogue process with India, saying parleys were in the mutual interest of both sides.

"We have been saying throughout that we want the resumption of the composite dialogue but it should not be construed as a favour by one side to the other," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said. "We hope India will realise that talks are in the mutual interest of the two countries," he told a weekly news briefing.

Responding to a question about External Affairs Minister S M Krishna's statement linking the resumption of the dialogue to Pakistan taking action against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks, Basit said Islamabad is conducting its investigation into the incident with "full seriousness" and systematically.

Pakistan is "looking forward" to the meeting between the Prime Ministers of the two countries on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement meet to be held in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik during July 11-16, Basit said. This meeting would be preceded by another one between the Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan.