India today conveyed its concern to Pakistan over continuing terror emanating from its soil and areas under its control, and asked Islamabad to uphold the sanctity of the LoC, a key confidence building measure.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who met her Pakistani counterpart Ayaz Sadiq here, said India "desires peaceful, friendly and cooperative relations with Pakistan, and is also committed to resolving all outstanding issues bilaterally".
She hoped that necessary climate is established for advancing the bilateral relationship, and in this connection conveyed her concern over continuing terror emanating from Pakistan and areas under its control.
Kumar also stressed the need for dismantling terrorist networks within Pakistan's territory and also for upholding the sanctity of the Line of Control, which would be the most important Confidence Building Measure, according to a statement issued by the Permanent Mission of India here.
The meeting between Kumar and Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Sadiq took place on the sidelines of the 129th Assembly of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
This was the first meeting of Kumar with the newly elected Speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly.
It may be recalled that Kumar had led a 15-member Indian Parliamentary delegation to Pakistan in February 2012, which was followed by the visit of a 14-member Pakistan Parliamentary delegation led by Syed Hussain Bokhari, Chairman of Senate of Pakistan in December 2012.
Kumar was the first speaker of Lok Sabha to visit Pakistan.
Sadiq stressed on keeping all available channels open to avoid escalation of miss-trust and bitterness on both sides of the divide.
Parliaments, as the real voices of the people, were better place to engage and seek common solutions to common problems, Sadiq was quoted as saying by Pakistan's APP news agency.
He informed about his efforts to revamp the Pakistan-India Friendship Group within the Pakistan National Assembly, which will soon discuss ways to further engagement among Parliamentarians of two countries.
Besides, he acknowledged the need to resolve immediate areas of concern as highlighted by Kumar.
Both the Speakers also discussed about the dates of the next SAARC speakers' meeting scheduled to be held in the Maldives later this year.
