Pak foreign secretary Bashir calls on Krishna

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir on Friday called on External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and discussed relations between the two estranged neighbours. Bashir, who was in New Delhi for talks with his counterpart Nirupama Rao, spent approximately an hour talking to Krishna.

They are understood to have taken stock of the bilateral relations and reviewed the discussions that were held between the two foreign secretaries on Thursday.

India has emphasised that it wants to improve relations with Pakistan but for that, Islamabad will have to end cross-border terrorism. The two countries resumed talks after a hiatus of 14 months, as India had suspended the composite dialogue after the attack on Mumbai in November 2008.

India on Thursday handed over three dossiers detailing the anti-India terror activities emanating from Pakistan with the expectation that Islamabad will act against the concerned outfits.

The dossier contains the names of 34 terrorists, including Lashkar-e-Tayiba chief Hafiz Saeed, whom Indian wants to be handed over or punished in Pakistan.

The Pakistani side has made a strong pitch for resumption of composite dialogue, but New Delhi fhas ended it off, saying the time was not 'right', and advocated a gradual step-by-step approach.

Bashir was accompanied by Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik.