Gilani to meet Manmohan on Jul 16, hopes to revive peace talks

Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Jul 12 (PTI) Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf
Raza Gilani will meet his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on
July 16 on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Egypt "in a bid
to restart the stalled peace process" between the two
countries.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister's office Sunday
said Gilani will hold talks with Singh in the Egyptian resort
of Sharm el-Sheikh on Thursday "in a bid to restart the
stalled peace process".

India has demanded that Pakistan should take credible
action against perpetrators of Mumbai terror attack.
"... we hope they would take some steps in that direction
(punishing the perpetrators) and with this hope I will meet
Gilani," Prime Minister Singh told reporters while returning
home from the Italy after attending the G-8 summit.

Gilani, who is set to leave for Egypt on Tuesday to
participate in the Non-Aligned Movement summit, telephoned
main opposition PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif Sunday to take him
into confidence regarding the upcoming meeting with Singh.

"Sharif assured the Prime Minister of his party's full
support to the government on Pakistan's stance and the need
for resolving all outstanding issues confronting India and
Pakistan peacefully through talks," said the statement.

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir will meet his
Indian counterpart Shivshankar Menon ahead of the meeting
between Gilani and Singh.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit has said Pakistan
will approach both meetings with an "open mind and a
constructive and positive attitude".

India put the composite dialogue with Pakistan on hold
in the wake of last year's Mumbai terror attacks that killed
nearly 180 people. It has linked the resumption of the parleys
to Pakistan taking action against the perpetrators of the
attack, including members of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba.

In a bid to clear the air before the meetings, the
Pakistan government yesterday announced that the trial of five
LeT operatives accused of involvement in the Mumbai attacks
will get underway this week.

It also said authorities had identified 13 more suspects
who were involved in planning and facilitating the attacks.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said investigators
have prepared a second chargesheet against the five LeT
operatives – including operations commander Zakiur Rehman
Lakhvi – using information provided by Indian authorities. PTI
RHL
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