Pak for peace talks without preconditions, wants Mumbai evidence in English, Urdu

September 24th, 2009 Israel hails US call for talks without conditionsJERUSALEM — Israel's prime minister welcomed Thursday President Barack Obama's call for the resumption of Mideast peace talks without preconditions despite Palestinian demands for a halt to new Jewish settlements in the West Bank before any new negotiations begin. In the past, Obama had said all Israeli building must stop on lands the Palestinians claim for a future state.

September 24th, 2009 NEW YORK - Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday praised US President Barack Obama's UN address, which backed Israel's right to live securely, stressed its legitimacy as a "Jewish state," and urged the Palestinians to relaunch negotiations without preconditions. "The speech was "good and positive" for Israel and for moving the peace process forward," etanyahu told The Jerusalem Post.

September 23rd, 2009 Obama urges relaunch of Mideast peace negotiationsUNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama says the time has come to re-launch negotiations toward the long-elusive goal of Mideast peace. In a speech to the U.N.

August 18th, 2009 MOSCOW - Iran is ready to hold talks on its nuclear programme with the West without any preconditions, a senior Iranian official said Tuesday. "Iran's main position on talks regarding (the country's) nuclear programme is that discussions should be held without any preliminary conditions," said Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

July 1st, 2009 LONDON - After a detailed meeting with Dr Shabir Choudhry in London, Professor Khawaja Abdul Rehman has been appointed Regional Director of Institute of Kashmir Affairs, Azad Kashmir Chapter. Rehman is a professor of English in Muzaffarabad and is conducting research on languages at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

June 26th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has said that the resumption of composite peace talks with India is in the interest of both countries, and that it should not be looked at as a favour by one country to the other. Addressing a regular briefing here, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said that the bilateral dialogue between India and Pakistan is in the mutual interest of both the neighbours, and it is very important for ensuring peace and stability in the region.

June 25th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan seriously believes that composite dialogue is in the interest of both India and Pakistan, foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said here Thursday. "Talks are unavoidable for durable peace and prosperity in the region," Basit said at a weekly press briefing.

June 24th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - With the United Nations (UN) set to start investigations into the assassination of the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto from next month, Pakistan has been asked to provide English translations of Urdu documents of the probe conducted so far. The UN subcommission, which would be probing the assassination of the former premier for six months, has asked Islamabad to send two copies of the investigation report prepared by Pakistan intelligence agencies.

June 20th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has accused Palestine of using the issue of settlements as an excuse to avoid negotiations, which would ultimately lead to peace. "It's very clear that it's not the settlements.

June 14th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has accused India for its laid back attitude in the Mumbai attack probe, and said that the delay being caused in the enquiry was primarily due to New Delhi's relaxed approach over the issue. Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's Advisor on Interior Rehman Malik met Indian High Commissioner Sharad Sabharwal here on Saturday, and assured him that Islamabad is sincerely probing the November 2008 terror attacks.

June 4th, 2009 ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI - In the midst of heightened subcontinental tensions over the release of 26/11 Mumbai terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed, Pakistan Thursday for the second time raked up the Kashmir issue, saying peace in the region was predicated on its resolution. A fair and just resolution of the long-standing dispute is absolutely essential for lasting peace in the region, Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit said at his weekly media briefing here.

June 3rd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has said that it is ready to resume bilateral talks with India, but only if New Delhi puts down the preconditions attached to it, and has approached the United States and other countries towards this purpose. In an interview with the The Nation, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Islamabad is ready for resumption of the composite dialogues with New Delhi to address the common threat of extremism and to find out the solutions of some long pending issues between the two countries such as the Kashmir issue.

June 3rd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has said that it would not shift its forces from the Indian border to the western border along Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that it is impossible for Islamabad to reduce the number of troops from the Indian border, and the international community especially the western countries are aware of the fact.

February 11th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan said Thursday it was 'serious' about prosecuting the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks and that the actions taken so far would prove its 'sincerity'. 'We are serious (about the probe) and all the action taken so far will prove our sincerity,' Interior Minister Rehman Malik said at a press conference here.

January 3rd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Sunday said his government wanted to revive the peace process with rival India which stalled after the Mumbai terror attacks. Qureshi said the 'unfortunate' Nov 26 terrorist siege in India's financial capital were a grave 'setback' for improving ties between the two neighbours.