Thaindian News

Islamabad, June 24 (IANS) India Friday asked Pakistan to bring the 26/11 trial to a “satisfactory closure” as the two countries ended their two-day talks by agreeing on exploring additional cross-Kashmir confidence-building measures and combating terror jointly.

In a new spirit of pragmatism, Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir discussed issues relating to peace and security, Jammu and Kashmir and the promotion of friendly exchanges to carry forward the dialogue process that was resumed in February this year after being frozen for over two years since the Mumbai terror attacks.

Describing justice for the Mumbai terror attack victims as a “critical issue”, Rao said at a joint press conference that India wanted “a satisfactory closure” of the 26/11 trial for “normalisation of relations”.

Bashir said that while he understood India’s concerns over terror, the two countries should focus on combating this menace jointly.

“This issue of terrorism requires objectivity and we hope and expect it to be addressed in a collaborative manner,” he said.

Rao, however, made it clear that the resumed dialogue process can continue only in “an atmosphere free from terror and violence”.

Despite their differences and well-known positions on the Kashmir issue, the two neighbours decided to reconvene a working group to flesh out additional confidence building measures (CBMs) across the Line of Control.

These CBMs could include the launch of the Kargil-Skardu road link, increasing the frequency of cross-Kashmir bus link between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, an increase in the number of trading days across the LoC and a liberalised visa regime, informed sources said.

While replying to a question, Rao declined to go into specifics, but said a working group on cross-border CBMs will be held before the meeting of foreign ministers in New Delhi. “People are at the heart of this relationship,” she said.

The two sides decided to carry forward the dialogue process “in a constructive and forward-looking manner”, a joint statement said at the end of the talks.