The Hindu : National : Pranab welcomes resumption of talks

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 15, 2006
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Pranab welcomes resumption of talks

Diplomatic Correspondent

— Photo: PTI

BACK ON TRACK: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee receives the Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

New Delhi: Pakistani Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan called on External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee at South Block here on Tuesday.

During the meeting, the Minister "reviewed the discussions" that took place between the Foreign Secretaries earlier in the day.

According to a Ministry spokesman, Mr. Mukherjee spoke in general terms about the need for both sides to fight terrorism jointly.

He "welcomed the resumption of the dialogue process, and underlined the need to address all issues as part of this process. He also recalled some of the achievements of the dialogue process... ," the spokesman said.

However, Mr. Mukherjee chose not to respond to comments from his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri that the Siachen issue could be resolved in a matter of days. It was not necessary to react to every comment, the Minister told presspersons.

Asked to respond to China's position on the status of Arunachal Pradesh, Mr. Mukherjee said the northeastern State was an integral part of India.

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