Pakistan, India to come face-to-face in Paris

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Pakistan, India to come face-to-face in Paris



Saturday, December 13, 2008
By Mariana Baabar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India will meet at the highest level face-to-face for the first time since the Mumbai attacks, when Foreign Minister Shah Mehmud Qureshi and Indian Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahmed arrive in Paris on Sunday for the ‘Informal Minister’s Meeting with Afghanistan’, hosted by the foreign minister of France.

Though there are no bilateral meetings planned by the Foreign Office during the one-day event, The News understands that Pakistan will be open to any discussions on these attacks. However, Pakistan had hoped External Minister Pranab Mukherjee would have attended the meeting, which would have made the exchange more meaningful.

Apart from France, there will be seven European countries, representatives from the Central Asian Republics and Iran attending the meeting. The meeting in Paris comes at a time when Pakistan has asserted that it will pursue its own investigation in accordance with the country’s laws as it is committed to internally respect the concept of ‘due process’.

Shah Mehmud Qureshi reiterated on Saturday night that Pakistan’s investigation could not proceed beyond a certain point without provision of credible information and evidence pertaining to the Mumbai attacks.

“Despite our requests, no evidence or information has been shared with the government of India so far. Our proposals for the establishment of a joint commission as well as joint investigation have been made in an earnest effort to move forward in an area that equally concerns both Pakistan and India,” he said.