Odishatv Bureau
Islamabad: Amidst indications that the composite dialogue with India would "resume soon", Pakistan today said it has proposed dates for talks on the Wullar Barrage and Sir Creek issues.
 
"There are indications that the composite dialogue will resume soon. The leadership of the two countries has already expressed the desire to see improved relations between the two countries," Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Chaudhry said.
 
"We hope that the two sides will engage in an uninterruptible composite dialogue," Chaudhry told a weekly news briefing in response to questions from reporters.
 
Pakistan has proposed dates for two of the eight segments of the composite dialogue - the Wullar Barrage and Sir Creek issues.
 
"We are yet to hear from the Indian side whether those dates are convenient for them. Similarly the Indian side is also expected to propose dates of the events that it is to host," Chaudhry said.
 
The spokesman refused to comment on External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid's reported scepticism about the resumption of the bilateral dialogue.
 
"The leadership of Pakistan has expressed clearly that it would like to seek an improvement in ties with all of Pakistans neighbours, including India. Peace in the region will help create an enabling environment to promote economic well being of our people," he said.
 
"It is in this context that resumption of the composite dialogue is important." 
 
Asked about Track-II diplomacy between the two sides, Chaudhry said the formal and informal tracks are "supposed to complement each other".
 
Former Pakistani envoy Shahryar Khan was nominated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to pursue Track-II diplomacy. "We do hope that this track will contribute to the efforts to seek improvement in bilateral relations between Pakistan and India," he said.
 
India suspended the composite dialogue after Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people in November 2008.
 
Though the talks resumed after a gap of over two years, the peace process was hit by tensions caused by clashes along the Line of Control earlier this year.
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