Giving direction to Indo-Pak bilateral ties a priority: Khar

Islamabad, Jul 22: Days ahead of her visit to New Delhi for crucial talks with her Indian counterpart, Pakistan's new Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said her priority in the parleys with India would be to set a future direction for the bilateral relationship.

Khar said it is a "positive step" that India is serious in the talks and is moving to institutionalise the process of negotiations with Pakistan.

There was forward movement in recent talks between the two countries, she said.

The Pakistani position for the upcoming talks is that it wants to "look at the entire picture and at the root causes of problems", Khar said in an interview with state-run PTV.

It was the success of Pakistan to bring India back to the negotiating table, and the priority for the upcoming talks would be to set a future direction for bilateral relationship, she added.

During her talks with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, the two sides will take stock of progress made at secretary-level talks, said Khar, who will travel to India on July 26 and hold talks with Krishna the following day.

She said Pakistan is pro-actively engaging with neighbouring countries, particularly Afghanistan and India, to achieve sustainable peace and stability in the region.

Asked about the arrest of Kashmiri separatist leader Ghulam Nabi Fai in the US on charges of working for Pakistani intelligence agencies, Khar said Fai is a US citizen and "he will be able to resolve his present problem within the available system".

PTI