Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet on 25th of next month in Islamabad to discuss the way forward in bilateral ties.

Briefing reporters in New Delhi today, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said that Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh had a telephonic conversation with her Pakistani counterpart and discussed how to move forward. He said, Ms Singh used the opportunity to raise the issue of ceasefire violation along the Line of Control.

The spokesperson said, during the conversation, Ms Singh said incidents of this nature will impede the
positive work that the political leaders of both the countries wish to undertake.

She also reiterated that meaningful cooperation between the two countries cannot take place alongside violence and the sound of bullets on the border. Mr. Akbaruddin said that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity on the Line of Control is one of the most important Confidence Building Measures between the two countries.

A similar announcement about the meeting between the the two Foreign Secretaries was also made from Islamabad after telephonic conversation.

An understanding that the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries will be in touch to see how to move forward on bilateral relations had been reached during the visit of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in New Delhi in May to attend the swearing-in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.