External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will visit Islamabad on July 15 for talks with his Pakistan counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi to work out the modalities for carrying forward the dialogue process to discuss outstanding issues in an atmosphere of mutual trust.
After a 25-minute telephonic conversation between the two ministers on Tuesday, Krishna told reporters that Qureshi had invited him to visit Islamabad on July 15 and he looked forward to the talks.
"The foreign minister of Pakistan has invited me to visit Islamabad on July 15. So I am planning to visit Islamabad for my talks with Foreign Minister Qureshi," he said.
"I am looking forward to these talks and let us hope that these talks will help in bringing our countries closer together and bringing between the two countries the cordiality we desire and let us hope that our efforts will be fruitful," he said.
Krishna said he and Qureshi will work out the methodology to carry forward the dialogue between the two countries so that all outstanding issues could be discussed in an atmosphere of 'mutual trust.'
He said the Prime Ministers of both the countries had after their meeting in Thimpu last month asked the foreign ministers and foreign secretaries to meet as soon as possible and discuss ways to reduce "trust deficit".
On Thursday, Krishna had said in Rajya Sabha that India had decided to have a dialogue as there has been a "transformation" in ties with assurance coming at the level of Pakistan Prime Minister that India's "core concern" with regard to terrorism would be addressed adequately.
In Islamabad, Qureshi on Tuesday made it clear that the two sides were going into the talks with an open mind and positive approach without having any false hopes.
"I will not create any false hopes. I am an optimist yet a realist. I recognise the challenges, I recognise the difficulties. I recognise the trust deficit. It is an uphill task.
"Don't expect miracles overnight. Good thing is that on both sides we have democracies and democracies believe in negotiations, talks and parleys," he said adding, "We had a very good discussion and we will build on it. There is no quick fixes."
His response came on being asked about the two sides reportedly having come close to a deal on issues related to Siachen and Sir Creek during the earlier dialogue process.
Qureshi said he would be seeking guidance from Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on the substantive issues.
He said the approach of Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Gilani was "very productive" and their interaction in Thimphu was "frank, cordial and forward looking".
"We will discuss all issues of concern to India and Pakistan. There was no discussion on structure. I am presuming both sides are comfortable. Structure is in place," Qureshi said.
"We will have to sit and resolve. We will not allow acts of terrorism to impede the process. We will have to build on it to a level that it (dialogue process) becomes irreversible," he said.
He said there was no bar on bringing to the table issues o mutual concern like the water dispute. Qureshi said he had seen the Indian Minister's statement in Rajya Sabha last week which he considered "positive and forward looking".
Ahead of Krishna's visit, P Chidambaram is slated to visit Islamabad on June 26 to attend a meeting of home ministers from SAARC countries. The composite dialogue process covering Kashmir and other outstanding issues was stalled in the wake of the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.
The Singh-Gilani meeting on the sidelines of SAARC Summit in Thimphu was the first substantive dialogue between the two countries since they met in Sharm-el-Shaikh in Egypt in July last year.
Bringing in thaw in bilateral relations, Singh and Gilani in Thimphu had agreed to resume dialogue at the level of foreign ministers soon that could lead to parleys on all outstanding issues like terrorism, Kashmir and Siachen.
The two leaders had entrusted the foreign ministers and foreign secretaries with the responsibility of restoring confidence and trust in the relations that could pave the way for substantive dialogue on outstanding issues of mutual concern.
Singh had then conveyed India's deep and continuing concern over the fact that 26/11 mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed was being allowed to roam freely and engage in language and communications that are certainly not conducive to the atmosphere of peace and stability.
Gilani had assured Singh that his government was making all efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks and not to allow Pakistani soil to be used for terrorism against India.
