HM-level talks on SAARC sidelines will not take Indo-Pak ties forward: Husain Haqqani

Pakistan's former ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, on Friday said that the meeting of SAARC home ministers in Islamabad early next month would not take bilateral relations between Islamabad and New Delhi forward.

"I don't think the meeting of the home ministers would take the talks forward. The hardliners in Pakistan feel that an opportunity has once again been created in Kashmir. I have sympathy for the people of Kashmir," Haqqani told ANI.

"It would be better if Pakistan allows the Indian Government to create opportunities and do something for the youth of Kashmir. And for Pakistan, it would be better if they work for the betterment of Kashmir which is under their control. Both the nations should give time to each other and should try to first build on the friendship," he added.

The meeting in Pakistan is significant as Singh last week criticized Pakistan for interfering in India's internal affairs and fanning the ongoing unrest in Kashmir.

Sources, meanwhile, said that Rajnath Singh will raise the issue of cross-border terrorism at the meeting.

At the 13th SAARC Summit held in Dhaka in November 2005, the Heads of State decided that the SAARC Interior/Home Ministers would meet annually preceded by a meeting of the Interior/Home Secretaries to strengthen cooperation in the area of counter-terrorism, which they agreed was a challenge to all states and a threat to humanity, and could not be justified on any grounds.

The first meeting of SAARC Interior/Home Ministers was held in Dhaka on May 11, 2006, followed by a meeting in New Delhi in 2007.