Islamabad, July 22: Days ahead of her visit to New Delhi for crucial talks with her Indian counterpart, Pakistan's new Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said her priority in the parleys with India would be to set a future direction for the bilateral relationship.
 Khar said it is a "positive step" that India is serious in the talks and is moving to institutionalise the process of negotiations with Pakistan.
 There was forward movement in recent talks between the two countries, she said.
 The Pakistani position for the upcoming talks is that it wants to "look at the entire picture and at the root causes of problems", Khar said in an interview with state-run PTV.
 It was the success of Pakistan to bring India back to the negotiating table, and the priority for the upcoming talks would be to set a future direction for bilateral relationship, she added.
 During her talks with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, the two sides will take stock of progress made at secretary-level talks, said Khar, who will travel to India on July 26 and hold talks with Krishna the following day.
 She said Pakistan is pro-actively engaging with neighbouring countries, particularly Afghanistan and India, to achieve sustainable peace and stability in the region.
 Asked about the arrest of Kashmiri separatist leader Ghulam Nabi Fai in the US on charges of working for Pakistani intelligence agencies, Khar said Fai is a US citizen and "he will be able to resolve his present problem within the available system".
 Khar, 34, became Pakistan's youngest and first woman Foreign Minister on Tuesday when she was elevated to the status of a full-fledged cabinet minister. She was earlier the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
 She said peace and stability in Afghanistan is critical for Pakistan and the destinies of the two countries are inter-linked. Pakistan desires that Afghanistan should be peaceful and stable, she added.
 Asked about her upcoming meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the sidelines of ASEAN conference this week, Khar said Pakistan is "reviewing its terms of engagement with the United States".

Lastupdate on : Fri, 22 Jul 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 23 Jul 2011 00:00:00 IST