Manmohan Singh-Gilani meeting ends

The meeting between prime minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, in Thimphu on the sidelines of the Saarc summit, has ended, and it lasted for around 45 mins.

The talks were "very good talks" and held in a "free and frank" manner, said foreign secretary Nirupama Rao.

Manmohan Singh expressed India's concern over the "slow progress" of the Mumbai trial in Pakistan to Gilani.

Singh told Gilani that India was willing to discuss all issues of mutual concern through dialogue but the issue of terrorism was holding back the progress, said Rao. It was decided by the two prime ministers that foreign ministers and foreign secretaries of the two countries should meet as soon as possible to "restore trust and confidence" in the relations.

Rao said the issue of Balochistan was not raised at the meeting. Pakistan is well aware that India does not seek to interfere in the internal affairs of that country, she said.

Manmohan Singh has also told Gilani that Pakistan has to control and eliminate the "terror machine" that operates from its soil.

In a separate press conference held simultaneously in Thimphu, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi spoke of the Singh-Gilani meeting being very positive and a step in the right direction. Gilani has assured Singh that the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks will be brought to justice.

Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani met in the picturesque Bhutanese capital, Bhutan, on the margins of the 16th Saarc summit, their first meeting after their controversial engagement in Sharm-el- Sheikh in Egypt in July last year.