Mumbai attacks a 'setback'

2008-12-17 19:06

Islamabad - Pakistan's foreign minister expressed regret on Wednesday that the Mumbai attacks had halted the peace process with India, but said relations between the two nuclear-armed nations would recover.

Tensions between the historic rivals have risen in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, which New Delhi blames on "elements" in Pakistan. India said on Tuesday the peace process was now "on pause".

But Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he was confident the dialogue would resume.

"This unfortunate incident has been a setback... to the extent that our composite dialogue is at a pause at the moment," Qureshi told reporters in Islamabad.

"I am confident that we will overcome this hiccup... The future of Pakistan demands good neighbourly relations with India, so it's my responsibility to develop good bilateral relations."

Speaking after talks with his Swedish counterpart here in the latest round of international diplomatic efforts to ease tensions in the region, Qureshi said Pakistan and India had a common interest in defeating terrorism.

"Vis-a-vis terrorism, I feel we have a common objective. We have a common challenge. We have a common enemy. Let us join hands to defeat this enemy," he said.

Last month's attacks in Mumbai killed 172 people and wounded nearly 300 others. India says the gunmen were trained and sent by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group.

A spokesperson for the LeT on Tuesday denied it was behind the carnage, but vowed the group would fight on against Indian rule in Kashmir with its Muslim majority.

- AFP