Islamabad (PTI) Though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had a tough message for President Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani media on Tuesday sought to portray their first meeting since 26/11 as one that has infused a "fresh lease of life" to the stalled Indo-Pak peace process.

Setting the tone for the meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Russia, Mr. Singh bluntly told Mr. Zardari in front of television cameras that "my mandate is to tell you that Pakistan territory should not be used for terrorism against India."

However, asked by reporters whether Mr. Singh's message was tough, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi downplayed the remark, saying: "I don't agree with you (your question)."

Pakistan's official APP new agency quoted Mr. Qureshi as describing the meeting, the first top-level contact since the Mumbai terror attacks, as a "positive development".

The one-on-one meeting between the two top leaders, which commenced with a "warm handshake", gave a "fresh lease of life" to the stalled peace process, APP said in its report from the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.

Pakistani television channels did not give much importance to the meeting, doing only factual reporting. Most channels relegated it to number two or number three news item on their bulletins and focussed more on budget-related stories from different provinces.