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Pakistan wants result-oriented dialogue with India: Qureshi

* Foreign minister says Islamabad ‘worked sincerely to normalise situation’ after Mumbai attacks

MULTAN: Pakistan wants meaningful and result-oriented bilateral negotiations with India, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Friday.

Addressing a press conference at the Multan airport, he said, "I want to give a clear message to India ahead of the forthcoming Commonwealth meeting that Pakistan is ready for a meaningful dialogue."

"But if they (India) want another sitting for the sake of it, then I do not want to waste time. I am not interested in a mere photo session. I am interested in result-oriented dialogue."

Qureshi said the resumption of dialogue would benefit not only the two countries but also the entire region.

He said the entire world was talking about peace and stability in the region and India had to decide what it wanted for the future. He said US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao also stressed the need to ensure regional peace and stability in their joint statement during Obama’s recent visit to China.

Sincere steps: Qureshi said Pakistan desired constructive engagement with India, adding that Islamabad "sincerely took result-oriented steps to normalise the situation" after the Mumbai attacks.

To a question, he said that during his meeting with his Indian counterpart SM Krishna in New York City, he had condemned the Mumbai incident but said India should not overlook the fact that Pakistan was facing Mumbai-style attacks daily. He said India and the whole world should be fully receptive to the issue.

He said foreign ministers of all important countries held a round-table meeting after Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s oath-taking ceremony in Kabul, adding he had a chance to have an informal interaction with his Indian counterpart.

Qureshi said he had reminded Krishna that a road map had been discussed in their New York meeting for the resumption of dialogue between the two countries. He said the Indian minister had said he would discuss the matter with his government.

To a question regarding the reportedly controversial statement of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about Pakistan, Qureshi said it was just a news report, adding that Singh "is a serious and wise person and I do not think he would have given such an irresponsible statement". The facts might have been twisted and distorted, he added.

Kabul meeting: Qureshi said the foreign ministers’ Kabul meeting discussed the inaugural address of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and expressed satisfaction over his vision for the second term. Governance, institutional building and security were also discussed in the meeting. The FMs also decided that an international conference would be held in January to prepare an action plan and set a timeline to achieve targets so that they could serve as a benchmark for performance evaluation. app

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