Indo-Pak foreign secretaries to hold talks on June 23

The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet in Islamabad during June 23-24 for discussions under the bilateral peace process that resumed earlier this year after a gap of over two years.

The foreign secretaries will discuss peace and security, including confidence-building measures, the Jammu and Kashmir issue and promotion of friendly exchanges, said a brief statement issued by the foreign office.

In an apparent bid to counter India's efforts to raise fresh evidence linking Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence to the 2008 Mumbai attacks at the foreign secretary-level talks, foreign office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua yesterday said the agenda of the upcoming meeting would be limited to the Kashmir issue, peace and security and friendly exchanges.

India’s external affairs minister SM Krishna said earlier this week that the nexus between the ISI and perpetrators of Mumbai attacks, highlighted during Pakistani-Canadian terror suspect Tahawwur Rana's recent trial in Chicago, will be taken up during the forthcoming talks.

Pakistani foreign secretary Salman Bashir will be meeting his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao for the second time since February when they held talks in Bhutan on the sidelines of SAARC Ministerial conference.