Indo-Pak FS-level talks in Islamabad on March 13-15

New Delhi, Mar 5 (UNI) Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan will hold talks in Islamabad from March 13-15, launching the Fourth Round of the Composite Dialogue Process (CDP) between the two countries.

''The FS-level (Foreign Secrerary-level) talks are scheduled to be held in Islamabad, from 13th to 15th March...,'' the External Affairs Ministry said here today.

The meeting between Foreign Secretary Shivshanker Menon and his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammed Khan is being held a week after the India-Pakistan Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism holds its first meeting in the Pakistani capital tomorrow and on March seven.

The last time the two Foreign Secretaries met was in November 2006 when the two countries finalised the text of the Agreement on 'Reducing Risks from Accidents relating to Nuclear Weapons.' The agreement was signed in January this year after a meeting between External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri.

At the upcoming Islamabad meeting, the two Foreign Secretaries will review bilateral relations and discuss some outstanding issues including Kashmir, peace and security.

Official sources said the two Foreign Secretaries would also discuss visa relaxation between the two countries.

The two countries had agreed in Islamabad in January during the visit of the External Affairs Minister to complete the process of visa liberalisation by February end.

Pakistan has already indicated that it would relax visa restrictions for Indian tourists and raise the limit from five to 15 days.

Pakistan's Tourism Minister Niloufer Bakhtiar has said that Islamabad was considering increasing the duration of stay of Indian tourists from five to 15 days and introducing a tourist section in the passports for the purpose.

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