Pakistan sees momentum in ties with India

By Rina Chandran

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - On the eve of talks with his Indian counterpart, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday he hoped recent momentum in ties could push the rivals toward "comprehensive engagement".

But Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a comment clearly aimed at Pakistan, told a gathering attended by both leaders in Egypt that the "infrastructure of terrorism" must be dismantled.

New Delhi has long called on Islamabad to disarm Pakistan-based militant groups, including one it blames for attacks last November in which gunmen killed at least 166 people in a three-day rampage in Mumbai.

"There has recently been some forward movement in our relations with India. We hope to sustain this momentum and move towards comprehensive engagement," Gilani told delegates at a Non-Aligned Movement summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

"We believe durable peace in South Asia is achievable. It will be facilitated by the resolution of all standing disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir," he added, referring to the Himalayan region over which India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.

Thursday's meeting will be the third high-level meeting between the two countries since last year's Mumbai attacks derailed any rapprochement. Progress could help improve stability across the region as far as Afghanistan.

"NO SAFE HAVEN"