New York, Sept. 29 (ANI): Pakistan Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani on Sunday said his country was satisfied with the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, as it has paved the way for future constructive interaction.
"The meeting between the two prime ministers-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-was an extremely positive meeting. The meeting was held in a very positive environment, (and) it was a useful meeting," Jilani told media after the two leaders met here on the sidelines of the 68th UNGA earlier today.
"The main purpose of the meeting was ...to create a conducive environment to discuss and then ultimately resolve all outstanding issues," he added.
Jilani told media that Prime Minister Sharif emphasized that both countries have no option but to have a peaceful and sustained dialogue process.
"The Prime Minister (Nawaz Sharif) has always desired to pursue a foreign policy that seeks peace and economic cooperation between our countries. He believes that the two countries can prosper and flourish by making our forward movement on issues, which have adversely affected our two countries," he said.
Jalil also said that Dr. Singh did not mention Pakistan as an 'epicenter' of terrorism, as he did earlier before the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week.
"Terrorism is a concern of Pakistan too. Our PM mentioned external interference in Balochistan to India," he said.
Remaining optimistic about the future of the India-Pakistan relationship, Jalil said the New York meeting was a good starting point to resolve outstanding issues between the two countries.
"Our side definitely believes that every time we have had high-level interactions between India and Pakistan, they have certainly produced very positive results. I have no doubt that today's meeting has also produced positive results in that they have produced the willingness of the two leadership that there is a commitment that we should address all issues, which have contributed to the current state of affairs," he said.
Earlier, India's National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon said India took a hard stand on security and terror-related issues with Pakistan during the meeting between the two prime ministers.
"They (Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Nawaz Sharif) both agreed that the precondition for forward movement in the relationship, which they both desire, is really an improvement in the situation along the LoC, where there has been repeated ceasefire violations and (other) incidents," Menon said.
"My understanding is that both sides want to see a better India-Pakistan relationship than we have today. ...Right now, our effort is focused on making it possible to move towards the broader dialogue, and, that stage hasn't come yet," he added.
In his address to the United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had earlier said Pakistan must stop being 'the epicentre of terrorism'. (ANI)
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