External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh on Wednesday refused to set a deadline for resolving the Siachen issue even though he expressed hope that Indo-Pak talks on the issue will move forward.
"There is no deadline for Siachen, but we hope talks will move forward," Singh told reporters in Karachi before leaving returning home after a four-day visit to Pakistan during which he met President Pervez Musharraf and held talks with his counterpart Khurshid M Kasuri on the Indo-Pak peace process.
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A joint statement issued on Tuesdsay in Islamabad, after his talks with Pakistani leaders, said the two sides exchanged ideas on Siachen and agreed to continue their discussions so as to arrive at a common understanding before commencement of the next round of the Composite Dialogue in January.
Responding to a question, Singh said, "On some issues there can be no hurry. On some others, there is speedy movement."
Referring to the joint statement, he said, "concrete issues had figured in it, which is good for the dialogue process."
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Singh hoped that in coming days and months, there will be further movement in the peace process.
"Though there has been some success, it does not mean that all problems have been resolved," he said, noting that people in both countries wanted the friendship to increase and tensions to end.
Setting the deadline of December 31 for completion of renovation work on the Indian consulate in this Pakistani port city, Singh expressed confidence that the process of issuing visas from Karachi will start from January.
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Witnessing the progress of renovation work at the consulate in Karachi, Singh said a direction had been issued to restore the building by December 31 so that the visa office can function from January.
"We want visas to be issued from Karachi from January," Singh said, adding, "this will save people of Karachi from the trouble of going to Islamabad for getting visas."
Another significant development in the coming eight to ten weeks was going to be the reopening of the Khokhrapar-Munabao rail link.
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"The rail link will be a great boon for people of the two sides, particularly those Pakistanis intending to visit Ajmer Sharif," Singh said.
Before leaving for India, Singh called up his Pakistani counterpart Khursheed Mahmood Kasuri in Islamabad to thank him for the hospitality and expressed satisfaction over the talks.
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