Sartaj Aziz meets Manmohan, stresses good ties with India

Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's foreign affairs advisor, Wednesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and reaffirmed Islamabad's desire to have "good neighbourly relations with India".

The meeting was held at the prime minister's 7, Race Course Road official residence in New Delhi at 10.30 a.m. and "it lasted for half an hour", an informed source told IANS.

According to a statement by the Pakistan Foreign Office in Islamabad, Aziz conveyed to Manmohan Singh the greetings of Nawaz Sharif and "reaffirmed the desire of Pakistan to have good neighbourly relations with India".

In answer to a question, the spokesperson of the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "This (Wednesday) morning, the adviser paid a courtesy call on the Indian prime minister. The adviser took the opportunity to convey the greetings of the prime minister of Pakistan to him and reaffirmed the desire of Pakistan to have good neighbourly relations with India. The need to address all outstanding issues through dialogue process was also affirmed."

The meeting with Manmohan Singh took place a day after Aziz met External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon in Gurgaon.

India had raised the issue of ceasefire violations on the Line of Control and increased infiltrations during the meeting between Aziz and Khurshid, as well as his meeting with Kashmiri separatists.

Aziz was in India to attend the Nov 11-12 Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) conclave held in Gurgaon.