Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna said yesterday he would visit Islamabad on July 15 for talks on restarting stalled peace negotiations, raising hopes of an improvement in ties between the nuclear-armed rival countries.
Relations between the two countries went into a diplomatic freeze after India blamed Pakistan-based militants for the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, which killed 166 people.
“I’m looking forward to these talks,” Krishna told a news conference in the Indian capital after accepting the invitation from Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi during a 25-minute telephone conversation yesterday.
“Let us hope that these talks will be helpful in bringing our two countries closer together and let’s hope that our efforts will be fruitful,” Krishna said.
“It was a good conversation that we had,” Qureshi told a news conference in Islamabad, adding he would come to New Delhi for a next round of talks.
The emergence of a roadmap to normalize ties is good news for the US, which is keen for peace between the two countries, as their proxy war for influence in Afghanistan is seen as hampering Washington-led efforts to bring peace there.
An easing of tensions along Pakistan’s eastern borders with India would also make Islamabad more willing to commit troops to a possible ground operation in North Waziristan, which officials say is home to a number of militant groups.
New Delhi has long complained about Islamabad not cracking down on Pakistani-based militants launching deadly attacks inside India over the disputed Kashmir region and elsewhere in the country. India has also blamed Pakistani groups for attacks on its diplomats in Afghanistan.
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