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
The moving story of a 16-year old girl airlifted from Lahore to New Delhi by air ambulance for a life-saving liver transplant operation
It's a rebirth for 16- .....more
Photos by Saiyna BashirThe annual festival of Vaisakhi or Baisakhi is a centuries old spring celebration observed by farmers across northern India, particu .....more
Little Pooja returns safelyAKudos to the border forces in India and Pakistan for starting to take a more humane view of human mistakes. On Sunday, March 24, the Indi .....more
If war is not the answer, peace has to be"Pakistan-India relations have not been very pleasant for the last 65 years for various reasons and biases. Both countrie .....more
A Pakistani scholar writes about the shared bonds with Indian colleagues whom he met in a third countryBy Riaz Ahmed Shaikh
It was at a seminar in Thailand, t .....more
The daughter of a former cross-border prisoner reflects on her own family's experiences over two decadesBy Amna Chishty
Last year my father Dr. Khalil Chishty's 20 .....more
Page 4 of 175
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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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