Manmohan, Gilani talk for 50 minutes
By Sarwar Kashani, IANSThursday, April 29, 2010
THIMPHU - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani met for about 50 minutes on the sidelines of the SAARC summit here in a bid to explore the possibilities of resuming their long-stalled dialogue and normalising ties.
The two leaders held their first one-on-one meeting since the July 2009 Sharm-el-Sheikh dialogue. A joint statement at the Eygptian resort town had included Pakistan’s concerns about India’s role in the unrest in Balochistan that many in India saw as an implicit admission of Indian involvement.
The two prime ministers met at Bhutan House in the SAARC Village, created specially for the heads of South Asian countries who have gathered here for the 16th SAARC summit.
After shaking hands for a photo op, Gilani and Manmohan Singh went inside and talked for about 50 minutes.
The India-Pakistan peace process was called off following the terror strike in Mumbai in November 2008 that left 166 people dead. India blames Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) for the Mumbai mayhem and wants action to be taken against them.
