New York: The Indian and Pakistani Foreign Secretaries met in New York on Saturday to prepare the ground for the crucial talks between their Foreign Ministers.
With India insisting on concrete steps against the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistan said India should not hold the relationship back on a single issue as it has done what was "required" in the case.
"The question is how do we move beyond this point. The relationship cannot be held or brought to a standstill because of a trial or one investigation," Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir told PTI after meeting his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao in New York.
Bashir described the meeting as "useful" and said it helped in understanding the perspectives of the two parties "more clearly".
"Pakistan has nothing to hide, in fact, we have been very forthcoming on the quality of the work that has been done by our experts in terms of investigations and the arrests etcetra and all that has been shared with India," he said.
"It is now, I believe, time that India recognises, which they have, that Pakistan has done what was required," Bashir added.
During the nearly two-hour-long discussion, the Indian side reportedly maintained that they want Pakistan to act speedily and in a transparent manner against those responsible for the heinous attack on 26/11 the Mumbai attacks.
"The Indian side asked for concerted action and the need to complete the process of investigation of the Mumbai attacks because the conspiracy emanated in Pakistan," the Indian delegation told PTI.
"There is a need to bring the investigation to a satisfactory conclusion," it added.
Meanwhile, Bashir emphasised that India need to realised that "Pakistan has been a victim of terrorism".
"We seek a meaningful engagement to address all issues, including Jammu and Kashmir. We look with a great deal of optimism and confidence for the future of our region," the Pakistani Foreign Secretary said.
The meeting between Rao and Bashir marked the first high-level contact between the two countries since the Prime Ministers of the two countries met at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on July 16.
"The positive momentum of Sharm-el Sheikh has not been fully registered in India but there is hope that the understanding at the high levels will continue," Bashir said.
"We are very sincerely committed to promoting good neighbourly friendly relations with all of our neighbours," he added.
External Affairs Minister SM Krishna will meet his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Sunday.
The meeting takes place amid India's disappointment over the progress of Pakistan's probe into the Mumbai terror attacks and its prosecution of the culprits which has led to the suspension of composite dialogue.
India has been expressing dissatisfaction at the "tardy" steps taken by Pakistan and has been particularly peeved over the freedom allowed by Pakistan to Hafiz Mohd Saeed despite ample proof of his role in masterminding the Mumbai attack.
Ahead of the meeting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a tough message to Pakistan said that "Pakistan must stop using terrorism as an instrument of state policy if it wanted normal relations with India".
The two sides will review the status of common concerns, including terrorism and water sharing.
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