Foreign Secys. meet possible: Pak.

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JULY 26. Pakistan says there is ``good possibility'' of a meeting between the Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and India on the sidelines of August 9-10 SAARC official-level conference, due in Colombo.

``There is a likelihood of such a meeting,'' the Foreign Office spokesman, Mr. Riaz Muhammad Khan, said in response to a question at a news conference. Such meetings had been taking place in the past as well.

``If the meeting takes place, surely there would not be any big deal of substantial discussions,'' he said, adding that the focus in such a meeting would be on ``how to carry forward the process of dialogue.''

However, in response to another question, he said, ``of course, Kashmir will be on the top of agenda if discussions take place.''

In a related development, the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, presided over a high-level meeting with the Service Chiefs at the Naval Headquarters here. All the three Chiefs took part in the deliberations of the meeting that lasted an hour.

An official statement said the meeting focussed on national issues, particularly on those concerning security and defence. Gen. Musharraf's recent visit to India and the Agra summit also came up for discussion. No details of the discussion are available.

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Section  : International
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