Type: Parliament Questions and Answers

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Foreign Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan were held in the recent past;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the details of issues raised by both the countries during such talks;
(d) the details of issues on which Secretaries of both the countries agreed/disagreed;
(e) the time by which the issues agreed will be implemented/sorted out; and
(f) the details of future strategy chalked out by both the countries to continue the dialogue process?

ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SMT. PRENEET KAUR)
(a) to (f) In pursuance of the mandate given by the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan, following their meeting in Thimphu in April, 2010 and the meeting of the Minister of External Affairs of India and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan in Islamabad in July, 2010, the Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan met in Thimphu on February 6, 2011, to chart the way forward in India-Pakistan relations. The Foreign Secretaries agreed on the need for a constructive dialogue between India and Pakistan to resolve all outstanding issues. The two sides agreed on the following:

(i) They agreed to resume dialogue on all issues following the spirit of the Thimphu meeting between the two Prime Ministers.

(ii) The Foreign Minister of Pakistan will visit India by July 2011 to review progress in the dialogue process with his counterpart. This will be preceded by a meeting of the two Foreign Secretaries.
(iii) They agreed that prior to the visit of the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, meetings at the level of respective Secretaries will be convened on Counter-terrorism (including progress on Mumbai trial); Humanitarian issues; Peace & Security, including CBMs; Jammu & Kashmir; promotion of friendly exchanges; Siachen; Economic issues; Wullar Barrage/Tulbul Navigation Project; and Sir Creek (at the level of Additional Secretaries/Surveyors General).

The Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and India also met in Islamabad on June 23-24, 2011 for bilateral talks on Peace and Security including CBMs, Jammu and Kashmir and promotion of friendly exchanges. The talks were held in a frank and cordial atmosphere. Both sides reiterated their intention to carry forward the dialogue process in a constructive and purposeful manner. Both sides emphasized the importance of constructive dialogue to promote mutual understanding.

The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan met again on July 26, 2011 in New Delhi prior to the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the two countries. They reviewed the progress in the talks on various subjects under the resumed dialogue process and preparation for the Ministerial level meeting held on July 27, 2011.
Lok Sabha

Pakistan
South Asia