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Indian FM set for Pakistan talks India-Pakistan talks 'positive'
(about 10 hours later)
India's foreign minister is due in Islamabad on Saturday for weekend talks with Pakistani leaders. India's Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee has met Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad.
Pranab Mukherjee's two-day visit is ostensibly to invite President Pervez Musharraf to the regional Saarc summit meeting, to be held in Delhi in April. After the meeting, Mr Musharraf said conditions were good to "resolve outstanding issues" between the two neighbours, including divided Kashmir.
But it is expected the visit will help push forward the peace process between the neighbours. The disputed region has been the source of two of the three wars between the neighbouring countries.
The two began peace moves in 2004 but they slowed down after India blamed Pakistan for last year's Mumbai blasts. The nations peace moves in 2004 but slowed after India blamed Pakistan for last year's Mumbai blasts.
The visit is the first high-level contact between the two countries since the September meeting between Gen Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Cuba. Mr Mukherjee's visit is the first high-level contact between the two countries since the September meeting between Gen Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Cuba.
A reminder 'Conducive atmosphere'
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Summit and decided to resume talks.The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Summit and decided to resume talks.
During his visit, Mr Mukherjee is expected to call on President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The Indian foreign minister is to hold talks later on Saturday with his Pakistani counterpart, Khursheed Ahmed Kasuri, on a number of bilateral issues.
He is also due to hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart, Khursheed Ahmed Kasuri, on a number of bilateral issues. In his statement, Mr Musharraf said the confidence-building measures the two countries had made over the last few years had "created a conducive atmosphere to resolve outstanding issues".
The BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi says that nothing spectacular is expected to come out of the visit. The two sides are expected to discuss terrorism, the core issue of Kashmir and a way to end the military stand-off on the Siachen glacier, the world's highest battlefield. "All the issues were discussed, including the difficult ones," Indian foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said after the meeting.
Also on the agenda is the liberalisation of tourist visas and measures to reduce risks of a nuclear conflagration. A Pakistani government official told Associated Press news agency that proposals had been exchanged on solving the border dispute over the Siachen Glacier - where thousands of Pakistani and Indian troops face each other across the world's highest battlefield.
Officials say no agreements are expected to be signed. Officials in India say Mr Mukherjee is going to remind his hosts about the evidence Delhi has given to Islamabad about the involvement of Pakistan-based militants in last year's attacks on Mumbai trains. Officials in India said Mr Mukherjee was going to remind his hosts about the evidence Delhi has given to Islamabad about the involvement of Pakistan-based militants in last year's attacks on Mumbai trains.
Encouraging words India and Pakistan have fought three wars since both became independent from British rule in 1947.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke of his hopes for lasting peace in South Asia. The insurgency in Indian-administered Kashmir has killed thousandsTwo were triggered by the dispute over the divided Kashmir region and the nuclear-armed neighbours nearly went to war a fourth time in 2002.
"I dream of a day when one can have breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Kabul. This is how our forefathers lived. That is how I want our grandchildren to live," he said. Travel and sport links have been restored but little progress has been made over Kashmir.
Last month, President Musharraf suggested Pakistan could give up its claim over the disputed territory of Kashmir if India accepted his peace proposals.Last month, President Musharraf suggested Pakistan could give up its claim over the disputed territory of Kashmir if India accepted his peace proposals.
He called for a phased withdrawal of troops in the region and self-governance for Kashmiris.He called for a phased withdrawal of troops in the region and self-governance for Kashmiris.
But not everyone is so optimistic about the peace process. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke of his hopes for lasting peace in South Asia.
A senior leader of India's opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, VK Malhotra, is sceptical about dialogue with Pakistan. "I dream of a day when one can have breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Kabul. This is how our forefathers lived. That is how I want our grandchildren to live," he said.
"Talks in the present situation, when the government itself speaks about high security alert at key nuclear installations, airports and other facilities, will be meaningless," he says.