Indo-Pak dialogue should be uninterrupted, says Rabbani Khar

Islamabad, Jul 19: The India-Pakistan dialogue process should be "uninterrupted and uninterruptible" and help in building trust between the two countries, Pakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said today (Jul 19).

Khar, who is set to be elevated as a full-fledged Foreign Minister before she travels to New Delhi for talks with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna at the end of this month, made the remarks during a meeting with Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal at the Foreign Office.

"The dialogue process should be uninterrupted and uninterruptible, help in building trust and be result-oriented," Khar was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

Khar, 34, who will become the Pakistan's youngest and first female Foreign Minister, expressed satisfaction at the resumption of the full spectrum dialogue and progress made so far in the parleys.

"Ensuring cooperative relations with countries of the region was at the forefront of Pakistan's foreign policy," she said.

High Commissioner Sabharwal said the Indian External Affairs Minister is looking forward to Khar's visit to India.

He agreed with the Minister of State that the dialogue process is "as much about building trust as about resolving all issues".

Khar too said she was looking forward to her visit to New Delhi. India and Pakistan resumed their dialogue process in February this year after a gap of over two years.

The peace process was suspended in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that were blamed on the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Pakistan has acknowledged that the conspiracy behind the attacks was hatched on Pakistani soil and arrested seven suspects, including LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, on charges of involvement in the assault.

However, the trial of the suspects has been marred by several delays and New Delhi has said Islamabad needs to take steps to bring the masterminds and financiers of the attacks to justice.

PTI