Participants at an Indo-Pakistan track two conference here on Friday urged the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan to resume the stalled bilateral dialogue, move decisively for normalisation of relations, and jointly work towards realisation of the SAARC Vision.
Urging the Prime Ministers to not miss the opportunity for resumption of talks on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit in Kathmandu on November 26-27, they noted that the continuing India-Pakistan gridlock has slowed the realisation of the Vision of SAARC.
Organised by the Regional Peace Institute (RPI), Pakistan, with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Pakistan, a 16-member delegation led by the former Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, visited India to attend the second round of the Pakistan-India Bilateral Dialogue. The 26-member Indian delegation was led by the former Union Minister, Mani Shankar Aiyar.
In a release at the end, the delegates stressed on the imperative need for peace between the two countries and reiterated their resolve to spread the message of peace and normalisation of bilateral relations.
The delegates noted with concern the stalemate in talks following the suspension of the Secretary-level talks by India after the initial positive meeting between the Prime Ministers of the two countries at Narendra Modi’s inaugural in New Delhi in May 2014.
Condemning the recent flare-ups along the Line of Control (LoC), the delegates emphasised that governments of both nations had a responsibility to ensure non-violation of the ceasefire agreement and to maintain tranquillity along the border.
The discussions focussed on four major themes — political and security dimensions, realising the trade potential, social sector cooperation and leveraging soft power.
