Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani are expected to meet in Thimphu on the margins of the South Asian Association Regional Cooperation Summit, during which the Indian leader is likely to seek an update on the probe and trial in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case being conducted in Pakistan.
Indications about the meeting, which could also discuss issues like water sharing dispute and humanitarian aspects, came from both India and Pakistan on Monday.
"We will be coming under one roof. So, if we come at the same time, it is obvious we will run into each other," Singh told mediapersons in New Delhi.
Arriving in Thimphu for the two-day SAARC Summit beginning on Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said, "I am not ruling it out," when asked if the Prime Ministers of the two countries would meet in Thimphu.
The minister noted that heads of states and governments are going to be under the same roof for the next couple of days for the multilateral meeting and there will be bilateral meetings. On the issues to be discussed if the meeting takes place, he said, "Let's wait and watch, how things are going to work out."
He, however, added that 'all bilateral issues between India and Pakistan will be discussed as and when the Prime Ministers meet.' In Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit also indicated that the two prime ministers would meet and said efforts would be to resume the composite dialogue, halted by India after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
"We would like to reactivate the engagement process if the meeting takes place," he said.
On the expected outcome of the meeting, he said it may not yield 'instant results' but if the composite dialogue process between the two countries is reactivated, it will be a positive development.
Sources said the two prime ministers are likely to meet on Wednesday, soon after Singh arrives in Thimphu to attend the summit of eight countries.
Singh and Gilani would hold talks for the first time after their meeting in Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt last year during which the controversial joint statement with a mention of Balochistan was issued.
The two leaders had exchanged pleasantries during the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington a fortnight back, but did not have any discussions.
During the meeting, Singh is expected to focus on cross-border terrorism and seek an update on the probe and trial in the Mumbai attacks case being conducted in Pakistan.
This will be significant as the two leaders are meeting for the first time since Pakistan gave replies to India's dossiers on continued cross-border terrorism.
The Pakistani side is expected to raise the issue of Kishanganga water dispute and India would respond to it, sources said. Pakistan has been alleging that a power project being constructed on Kishanganga river in Jammu and Kashmir violates the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, that governs sharing of common river waters.
India has been rejecting this allegation but Pakistan has lately threatened to move the World Bank for arbitration.
Asked about Pakistan's demand for handing over of Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist caught alive during 26/11 attacks, Krishna said it will be examined before any decision.
He said Pakistan's reply to the India's dossier had been received on Sunday night and it was yet to be studied. Noting that Kasab's trial is at an advanced stage in India and going on in full steam, he said, "We have to complete our legal formalities first and then we can examine Pakistan's request for the same."
He, however, added that the matter will be examined in consultation with other ministries and departments. A special court in Mumbai hearing the case of Kasab, the lone gunman captured alive by Indian authorities after the Mumbai siege of 2008, is expected to deliver its verdict on May 3.
On Pakistan's demand that Indian magistrates who recorded Kasab's statement, Krishna said he was yet to examine the matter. The Pakistani side has made a request for three Indian officials, including two magistrates and an investigator, to be allowed to travel to Pakistan to testify that they had recorded Kasab's statement.
