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Indo-Pak dialogue: India for keeping momentum 'on'

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Press Trust of India New Delhi
India will work with Pakistan on scheduling of dialogue on various bilateral issues since the new government is now in place in that country.

Noting that it was "inevitable" that when the elections are round the corner, some of the dialogue will take a little time, top government sources said since "the elections are over and there is a new government, they (dialogue) will be brought back on to same track."

The placement and scheduling of these talks will be discussed between Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and his Pakistani counterpart, the sources said, adding the idea was to keep the momentum "on" in the Indo-Pak dialogue process.
 

They also stressed that there was no "complete pause" in Indo-Pak dialogue in the aftermath of the beheading of two Indian soldiers earlier this year.

The sources said India has conveyed through Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special envoy Satinder Lambah that it stands "willing" to engage with Pakistan on broad framework of cooperation.

The idea was to open-up the first contact with Nawaz Sharif, even before his swearing-in, and convey India's recognition of what Pakistani leader had said in his announced programme that he wants to build India-Pak relationship, the sources said.

It was also to convey that "we stood willing to engage with Pakistan on broad framework of cooperation," they added.

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First Published: Jun 13 2013 | 10:00 PM IST

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