Pak envoy meets foreign secretary ahead of talks

Pakistan high commissioner Shahid Malik today met foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and discussed issues related to the February 25 Indo-Pak meeting.

Malik met Rao after his return from Islamabad where he held consultations with the Pakistan government on the forthcoming meeting between the foreign secretaries of the two countries, sources said.

After a 14-month hiatus, India on January 28 offered to hold talks with Pakistan in New Delhi. Pakistan accepted the offer last Friday.

However, there are differences on the agenda for the talks. India underlines that it would focus on cross-border terrorism while Pakistan says it would want to discuss other issues like Kashmir and water.

Pakistan is also pressing for resumption of composite dialogue, which was halted by India in the wake of Mumbai attacks of November 2008.

India has made it clear that the foreign secretary-level talks were only aimed at "unlocking" the channels of communications and would not mean resumption of composite dialogue.