The Hindu : Front Page : Kasuri: close to pact on Siachen

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 30, 2006
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Kasuri: close to pact on Siachen

Islamabad: Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said on Sunday that India and Pakistan were close to reaching an agreement to resolve the Siachen issue and suggested a "breakthrough" on this was expected next month to enable Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan.

He said meetings of the Foreign Secretaries and Foreign Ministers to be held in Delhi next month would hopefully achieve it. Mr. Kasuri said he would visit New Delhi next month to attend the wedding of the daughter of Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shanker Ayer during which he hopes to meet External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who recently took over as the new External Affairs Minister.

"As a Foreign Minister of Pakistan, I know we are very close to an agreement. I will not go into details. It depends on political will and I hope that the Prime Minister and the (new) Foreign Minister of India will show that political will," Mr. Kasuri told PTI here in an exclusive interview.

Pranab felicitated

A New Delhi report said Mr. Kasuri, in a letter to Mr. Mukherjee, felicitated his assuming the post of External Affairs Minister and hoped that under his "sagacious stewardship" the two countries would be able to further build trust and resolve outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr. Kasuri was looking forward to "working closely" with Mr. Mukherjee to bring about "durable peace and stability" in South Asia. — PTI

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