Pakistan, India agree to cooperate on counterterrorism

Jun 24, 2011, 17:14 GMT

Islamabad - There were no major breakthroughs as Pakistani and Indian officials on Friday ended two days of discussions, but they agreed to increase cooperation on counterterrorism measures.

'On Kashmir ... there are known positions of the two countries ... but we have agreed to continue to discuss all bilateral matters including Kashmir to find common grounds,' said Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir.

His Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao said the two sides had agreed to take 'incremental steps to promote mutual confidence and understanding.'

Terrorism 'needs to end; the ideology of military conflicts should have no place in the paradigm of our relations in the 21st century,' she said.

The divided Himalayan region of Kashmir is a source of ongoing friction between Pakistan and India, who have fought two wars over it since their independence from Britain in 1947.

The two foreign sectaries also discussed the agenda for talks between their foreign ministers in New Delhi next month, where Kashmir will be on the agenda.

A joint statement said both countries recognized that terrorism poses a continuing threat to peace and security and reiterated their commitment to fight it.

Peace talks resumed in February after India suspended its participation in response to the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, in which more than 160 people died.

India has blamed the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba for the attack.

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