He was speaking at a meeting with civil society organisations at the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) centre.
"Instead of meeting in Delhi or Islamabad occasionally, both the governments should sit together regularly at the border to discuss all the disputed issues," he said.
Shankar, a former senior diplomat and a member of the ruling All India Congress, said Vietnam and the US used to meet at the Hotel Majestic Palace every Thursday and officials of the South and North Korean governments are still meeting on weekly basis.
"Why Pakistan and India cannot meet at the border on regular basis for dialogue? For this, they don't need any permission or visa," he said. He added that former president General Pervaiz Musharraf had initiated the process of back-channel diplomacy which was very successful.
Shankar, who has also served as a diplomat in Pakistan in the 1970s, said he had very close relations with the people of Pakistan. "I have come here more than 20 times. About 46 Pakistani guests had attended the marriage ceremony of my daughter."
About the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project, the former Indian minister for petroleum said it was he who had initiated this project because India needed gas for its energy needs at that time.
But today's situation is quite different in India, he said. "We have discovered a lot of gas at home, so our imported gas needs have declined. Our government considers gas as not so clean energy. Instead, nuclear energy is now our priority," he said. However, he added, India would need imported gas in the future.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Syed Wahiduddin
Smooth relations between Pakistan and India are vital for regional and global stability. And what better way to improve the relations than f .....more
Prominent Pakistanis and Indians took up dialogue where the official meeting between their foreign secretaries left offBy Zubair A Dar
The governments o .....more
The Acha Star Awards for 2010 have been presented to two Pakistanis and four Indians for their work - Dr. Mohammad Arif (Varanasi), Jatin Desai (Mumbai), Ashfaq Fateh (To
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The pitch for peace was possibly never more melodious, more devotional. At the Aman Ki Asha concert held at the beautifully-lit Chowmahalla Palace, Hyderabad Deccan here
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Santana Pathak | TNNAHMEDABAD: "Truly, Ahmedabad is an all-time favourite city for Indian Ocean," gushes Amit Kilam, drummer of the band over the phone. Just a mi .....more
Sameer Arshad | TNNNew Delhi: Indian and Pakistani textile businessmen met in New Delhi on last week as part of Aman Ki Asha's business sub-committee on Textiles .....more
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The News on Sunday Special Report: India Pakistan prisoners
We probably didn't need to do this Special Report. Newspaper stories don't matter when it comes to Indians in Pakistani jails and vice versa. In fact, 'vice versa' sums it up. We do to them what they do to us.
Except when the two countries decide to begin talking, yet again! This time a little before the foreign secretary level talks, some Pakistani prisoners were released by India (and vice versa must have happened) and some more were release....read more
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For the past 2 years the Jang Group and Geo have been working on a project of great national interest; one that we hope will help usher in an era of peace and prosperity in the country and indeed, in the region. And one that hopefully all Pakistanis can be proud of.
The Jang Group has entered into an agreement with the Times of India Group, the largest media group of India, to campaign for peace betw
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