Gilani to approach talks with Manmohan Singh with 'open mind'

Islamabad, Jul 14 (PTI) Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf
Raza Gilani Tuesday said he would hold talks with his Indian
counterpart Manmohan Singh on the margins of the Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM) summit in Egypt with an "open mind" as he
believed any "pause" in bilateral dialogue would benefit
terrorists.

"If talks were on pause, that benefitted the
terrorists," Gilani told reporters here before embarking on a
four-day visit to attend the NAM summit in the Egyptian resort
of Sharm el-Sheikh. He said he would approach his parleys with
Singh with an "open mind".

"Both countries were moving in the right direction but
because of the Mumbai incident, there has been a pause in the
composite dialogue," Gilani said.

He said his talks with Singh on the sidelines of the
NAM summit were aimed at restarting the stalled peace process.

More interaction between the two countries will prove
beneficial, he said.

The Foreign Secretaries of the two countries will hold
talks Tuesday in Sharm el-Sheikh to chalk out the agenda for
his meeting with Singh, he said. Singh and he would also
decide on "the issues to be discussed" when they meet, Gilani
added.

Pakistan believes in cordial relations with all
countries, particularly its neighbours, he said. Gilani also
said his visit to the NAM summit was "extremely important" as
he would meet several world leaders.

This will be the second meeting between Gilani and
Singh. They earlier met on the sidelines of a South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in
Colombo.

India put the composite dialogue on hold in the wake
of last year's Mumbai attacks. It has blamed Pakistan-based
elements, including the banned Lashker-e-Taiba, for palnning
and carrying out the attacks that killed nearly 183 people.

New Delhi has linked the resumption of the peace
process to Islamabad taking action against the perpetrators of
the Mumbai attacks. Pakistan has insisted that conditions
should not be attached to the resumption of talks.

Ahead of Gilani's visit to Egypt, the Pakistan
government took some steps that were apparently aimed at
addressing India's concerns on the probe into the Mumbai
attacks. The federal and Punjab governments filed appeals in
the Supreme Court challenging LeT founder Hafiz Mohammad
Saeed's release from house arrest on the orders of the Lahore
High Court.

The move, however, suffered a setback after the Punjab
government informed the apex court that it wanted to withdraw
its appeal.

Pakistan Law Minister Rehman Malik has also said that
the trial of five LeT operatives arrested in connection with
the Mumbai attacks will get underway this week. The trial has
been held up for nearly two months due to the non-availability
of a judge. PTI RHL
DDC
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