Thursday, February 10, 2011

(CNN) -- Pakistan and India have agreed to resume peace talks that broke down after the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, government ministries said Thursday.

"(Pakistani) Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has expressed his satisfaction on the important decision taken both by Pakistan and India to resume full spectrum of dialogue," said a statement from Pakistan's foreign ministry.

An announcement from India's external affairs ministry said the foreign minister of Pakistan will visit India by July to "review progress in the dialogue process." Dates for the talks have not yet been set.

The decision to resume peace talks came during weekend meetings in Bhutan between the foreign secretaries of each nation.

"I value this development and pay my compliments and good wishes to (Indian Prime Minister) Dr. Manmohan Singh," Gilani said.

Under U.S. pressure, leaders from the nuclear neighbors held several meetings last year in a bid to restart the peace process, but no dramatic headway had been made until recently in resolving outstanding issues.

The two countries have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947. The Himalayan territory of Kashmir --claimed by both -- has been the cause of two of those conflicts.

In 2004, India and Pakistan agreed to a peace process that covers eight issues, including Kashmir, terrorism and Pakistan's concerns over river dams on the Indian side, which it sees as a threat to its water supplies.

Successive governments on both sides have held talks in an attempt to end their historical acrimony.

Singh and Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari hailed results from the negotiations in September 2008 as the countries completed four rounds of diplomatic meetings.

But talks were suspended two months later, in November, 2008, after the terror raid on Mumbai.

0 comments:

Post a Comment