As India and Pakistan resume fourth round of Composite Dialogue in Islamabad from May 20, the issue of Indian prisoners languishing in Pakistani jails is likely to dominate the talks.
New Delhi, May 18 : As India and Pakistan resume fourth round of Composite Dialogue in Islamabad from May 20, the issue of Indian prisoners languishing in Pakistani jails is likely to dominate the talks.
However, the government will not raise the issue of Sarabjit Singh, the Indian national on death row in Pakistan for the last 17 years.
Raising Sarabjit's issue will not help his case, as it will give unnecessary hype, an authoritative source in the Ministry of External Affairs told ANI.
Already Pakistan Government and President Pervez Musharraf are facing a lot of internal protests, and pressures on deferment of Sarabjit's hanging, the source added.
Although, the newly elected Prime Minister has given positive indications on pardoning Sarabjit, but the ball is in Musharraf's court, who has to take the call on granting clemency to Sarabjit.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Pakistan is expected to breath fresh lease of life in the Indo-Pak relationship, which has witnessed a slowdown since last one-and-a-half year due to political instability in Pakistan.
Highly placed source in the MEA said that India is ready to pick up the threads and is ready to carry forward the peace process.
Commenting on the recent statements emanating from Islamabad and alleged violation of ceasefire, the MEA source said that "we have been hearing mixed statements from Islamabad, let's see how far the new government is likely to go."
Apart from meeting his counterpart, Indian External Affairs Minister will also be meeting newly elected Prime Minister and President Pervez Musharraf.
Mukherjee is also likely to meet PPP's co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PML (N) chief Nawaz Sharif. By Naveen Kapoor
ANI