Hint of a thaw for India and Pakistan

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari met for the first time since the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last year in an effort to thaw relations between the countries. The two leaders said they would meet again during a summit meeting in Egypt next month to discuss the results of a meeting between their foreign secretaries about terrorism. “It is in India’s interest to carry on talking,” commented Dipankar Banerjee of the Ploughshares-funded Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. “India can contribute to the destabilization and destruction of Pakistan in 5 to 10 years. But if you want a stable, secure Pakistan, you need to follow a different course.”