Krishna, Nirupama Rao leave for Pakistan

New Delhi, July 14 (ANI): External affairs Minister S M Krishna, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and other senior ministry officials left for Islamabad on Wednesday for reviving a dialogue between India and Pakistan since the Mumbai terror attack of 2008.

Krishna left in a special Air India plane. He will be in Islamabad till Friday, interacting with pakistan's civilian and military leadership.

Major dailies have said the Indian delegation is likely to keep the focus of the interaction on terrorism, as also on fixing modalities for conducting structured dialogue on other issues of bilateral importance to both countries.

Sources here have said that there will be no return to the "composite dialogue" that was suspended immediately after 26/11.

Thursday's meeting will be the first round of foreign ministers' talks since 26/11. Neither side is expecting a breakthrough or declaration of an ambitious agenda.

After the meeting of the foreign secretaries last month in Islamabad, India has said that it is ready to discuss any issue that Pakistan cares to raise. New Delhi, however, has insisted that it will ask Pakistan for follow-up action on the 26/11 case.

Some of the old confidence-building measures-some action on trade links and treatment of fishermen and prisoners-could be among the "deliverables" during this visit.

India is not likely to discuss the Kashmir issue.There is also a possibility of the two delegations discussing how to engage with ach other on Afghanistan.

Thursday's dialogue could see the beginning of a restoration of normality between India and Pakistan. (ANI)