Islamabad:
Even as the Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan said a round of talks had gone very well, the Indian government issued a terror alert. The reason: Pakistani terrorists opposed to the talks may be looking to damage the process that's aimed at reducing "the trust deficit." (
Read: Govt issues terror alert ahead of SAARC meeting)
In Islamabad, for the first time since 26/11, the Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan held a joint press conference in Islamabad to share what they discussed. (
Read: Joint presser for Indo-Pak Foreign Secretaries: Good sign)
India's Foreign Secretary, Nirupama Rao, and her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir, held a round of talks before the arrival of Home Minister P Chidambaram who reaches Islamabad on Friday.
"I feel much more optimistic and confident about the outcome and relationships between the two countries," said Bashir.
Rao stressed that "We must deny terrorist elements any attempt to derail good relations." She also noted that Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani had assured his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in Thimphu in April that Pakistan will not allow its soil to be used for terrorist activities against India.
"We believe that it is an important commitment and what we also believe is that we should jointly work together towards our goal of resolution of outstanding issues," she said.