India and Pakistan were in touch with each other and dates were being worked out for a meeting between their leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, said Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry on Thursday.
Addressing a weekly media briefing, Mr. Chaudhry reiterated that the meeting between the two Prime Ministers could be a useful opportunity to engage in a constructive dialogue to discuss ways of building mutual trust and improving bilateral relations. He, however, declined to confirm September 29 as a possible date for the meeting.
In reply to a question whether the Indian Home Minister had said that Pakistan has agreed to hand over the people wanted by India, he said he had not seen Sushil Kumar Shinde’s statement being referred to. He clarified that the dialogue process between the two countries had not yet resumed and all matters of concern to both countries would be discussed.
ADVERTISEMENT
To a question on the recent views expressed by Indian High Commissioner T.C.A. Raghavan, Mr. Chaudhry said the Indian side could have its own views. Dr. Raghavan viewed the LoC incident as a “setback” for the dialogue process. Adding that while there was a feeling in India also to continue to engage with Pakistan, incidents such as the recent one on the LoC raised doubts on Pakistan’s sincerity, he reportedly said after a courtesy call paid to Sartaj Aziz, Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security & Foreign Affairs.