India and Pakistan Foreign Ministers may meet in Italy

New Delhi, June 23 (ANI): Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi may meet on the sidelines of G8 Outreach AF-Pak summit, which begins from June 27 in Italy's Trieste city.

Though the Ministry of External Affairs has declined to confirm about the meet between the two foreign ministers, reliable sources have told ANI that External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi can hold a stand alone bilateral talk on the sidelines of the summit in Italy.

The Foreign Ministers' meet can also be viewed as another step towards resumption of dialogue process for peace between the two countries, which paused after 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks last year.

The probable meet can be viewed as a follow up of the recent meet between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari held on the sidelines of Russian summits in Yeketerinberg.

Besides, India Foreign Minister Krishna will also be holding bilateral talks with his Afghan counterpart on the sidelines of the summit, which will focus on regional issues of reconstruction and rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Pakistan.

The India and Pakistan foreign ministers' meet will hold its own significance, as it will be a second high-level engagement between the two countries within a span of a month.

The Krishna-Qureshi meet will precede the Foreign Secretary-level Talks between the two countries that are likely to take place on the sidelines of G8 Summit, which begins on July 8. This will be followed by another bilateral discussion between Indian Prime minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart on the margins of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at Red Sea resort in Sharm-Al Shiekh, Egypt.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Krishna and his counterpart Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi may ask about the steps taken by Pakistan to prevent terrorism against India. While Qureshi may update Krishna about the status of held terrorists involved in masterminding Mumbai attacks.

This meeting could set the agenda for Gilani- Manmohan meet, which eventually is expected to de-pause the peace dialogue between the two countries.

Both sides have shown keenness in resuming the peace dialogue ever since the much talked about meeting between the Indian Prime Minister in the Russian city of Yeketerinberg with Pakistan President. By Naveen Kapoor (ANI)