India, Pak FMs to meet in August

Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet in Islamabad on August 25 in a bid to revive peace talks between the two nuclear-weapon countries which have remained stalled for nearly two years.

The decision to resume the talks at the level of Foreign Secretaries was taken by Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and her Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry through a telephonic conversation.

An understanding that the foreign secretaries of the two countries will be in touch to see how to move forward on bilateral relations had been reached during the visit of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif here in May to attend the swearing-in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders had a bilateral meeting for 45 minutes, a day after the ceremony.

Announcing the decision to hold Indo-Pak Foreign Secretaries meet, Syed Akbaruddin, Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry, told the media that "the two Foreign Secretaries had...a telephonic discussions and as part of that discussion they also discussed how they should move forward. And based on that telephonic conversation, they agreed that they will meet in Islamabad on August 25."

He noted that since there have been incidents of firing along the international boundary, Foreign Secretary Singh used the opportunity to raise the issue.

Singh said "incidents of this nature will impede the positive work" the political leaders of both the countries wish to undertake, according to the Spokesperson.