India, Pakistan may resume backdoor channel diplomacy: Report

October 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna on Thursday said that India and Pakistan should work out an effective channel to deal with all issues concerning the two countries.

September 27th, 2009 NEW YORK - Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna conveyed New Delhi's serious concerns about Pakistan-based militant groups to his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi during what he called "useful, constructive and candid" talks here Sunday.

September 17th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said Islamabad is in regular touch with New Delhi on all outstanding issues including the water dispute between both the countries. Interacting with media persons before departing for New York to take part in the United Nations General Council Meeting, Qureshi said that back channel diplomacy with India can not be ignored and added that it would be started once again.

September 14th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - India and Pakistan are likely to start their stalled composite dialogue through backdoor channel diplomacy to resolve outstanding issues, The Nation quotes a report, as saying. Former Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan is considered the best diplomat to handle issues related to India after the death of one of his predecessors Niaz A.

September 12th, 2009 LAHORE - Former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has blamed India for the formation of terror groups such as the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM). Talking to a private television channel, Musharraf said it was the oppression of Muslims in India by the Hindus which forced the Pakistani youth to take up militancy and extremism and form terrorist groups such as JeM.

September 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Former Pakistan National Security Advisor Mehmud Ali Durrani on Saturday suggested that India and Pakistan should give more teeth to the Joint Anti-Terror mechanism and use services of persons of intelligence agencies of both sides. Delivering a lecture at the first R K Mishra Memorial Lecture on the occasion of 20th Foundation Day of Observer Research Foundation (ORF) here,Durrani said that there is an urgent need to expand the Joint Anti-Terrorism mechanism to include senior representatives of security and intelligence agencies rather than leaving it to the 'bright boys of the foreign office".

June 11th, 2009 QUETTA - Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said India and Pakistan cannot afford to be engaged in military combat. Addressing national and foreigner army officers at the Command and Staff College here, Gilani said neither Pakistan nor India could afford war and expressed his desire that bilateral talks between both countries should resume as soon as possible.

May 31st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Although the composite dialogue process between India and Pakistan has come to a halt, "track-two diplomacy" is being revived, with an important Indian delegation expected to visit Islamabad next week, a media report said Sunday. A team from India comprising writers, former diplomats and intellectuals will visit Pakistan to resume the efforts of the previous teams to normalise relations between the two countries, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said Sunday citing official sources.

May 25th, 2009 LAHORE - Former Pakistan Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri has said he is "50 to 60 percent sure" that the peace process between India and Pakistan will resume in six months. In an interview with Najam Sethi on Dunya News, Kasuri said he had played a vital role in improving ties between Pakistan and India.

May 9th, 2009 CHENNAI - India will resume its composite dialogue with Pakistan only when it books those responsible for the terrorist attack in Mumbai, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Saturday. 'Our minimum demand is that Pakistan must take effective steps ...

April 22nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Wednesday that Pakistan was keen to hold talks with India on countering terrorism and widening their anti-terror mechanism. 'We are ready to talk as to how it (the mechanism) can be made more effective and as to how we can solidify mutual trust on this issue,' he told OneWorld TV channel.

April 2nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan today asked India to continue the composite dialogue process, which was stalled in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks. Addressing a weekly briefing here, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit emphasised the need that efforts should be made for the resumption of composite dialogue process, as it is the only way forward to resolve the bilateral issues, instead of giving statements in the media.

March 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India expects Pakistan to do justice and punish the terrorists who attacked Mumbai, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Tuesday. Addressing journalists after the release of the Congress manifesto here, Manmohan Singh also said diplomacy should be allowed to succeed vis-a-vis Pakistan.

February 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Nearly a week after Pakistan acknowledged the role of its citizens in the Mumbai terror spree, India Wednesday said diplomacy had 'prevailed' over military options and reminded Islamabad to take 'verifiable and credible action' against the masterminds of the carnage. 'Diplomacy has not failed.

January 19th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Monday that the global community should ask India to resume the dialogue process with Islamabad, Geo TV reported. He made the remarks during a briefing to foreign envoys at the foreign ministry.