Pakistan says talks with India essential to solve issues

Islamabad, June 18 (ANI): Pakistan has said on Thursday that in order to solve issues between New Delhi and Islamabad it is necessary for the both countries to restart the stalled peace process."As far as Pakistan is concerned, obviously, we are very serious and we went to this meeting with all seriousness and with sincerity of purpose," said Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit.

"We still believe that it is absolutely necessary for two countries to return to the negotiating table because without talking to each other it will be simply impossible to resolve the issues that the two countries are facing," Basit added.

The leaders of India and Pakistan had met on Tuesday on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO) in Russia for the first time since last year's attacks on Mumbai.

Officials nonetheless held out the prospect of a further meeting between Asaf Ali Zardari and Manmohan Singh at a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in July, suggesting the two countries might have at least begun to repair relations shattered by the Mumbai attacks. (ANI)