The Indo-Pak dialogue process, stalled since the failed Agra summit, received a push on Sunday when Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee paid a courtesy call on his Pakistani counterpart Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad.
Both leaders agreed to maintain the momentum in bilateral ties.
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Before the two met separately, they were joined by their delegations. The Indian side included External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra and the High Commissioner to Pakistan Shivshankar Menon. The Pakistani side included Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar.
Sinha said the Indian side had sought a meeting between Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf on Monday.
He said, "His call on President Musharraf, if it materialises, will be in the nature of a courtesy call."
Later, Sinha met Kasuri at Marriott Hotel for about an hour and discussed various issues.
A virtual stampede occurred as television crews and cameramen fought when the two leaders emerged from the meeting.
"We established good personal friendship which we hope to use for the betterment of relations between the two countries," Kasuri said.
