Gilani flays incident

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s prime minister on Sunday condemned a bomb blast that killed nine people in India, and stressed his commitment to resuming stalled peace talks between the nuclear-armed rivals. The bombing of a packed restaurant in the western city of Pune on Saturday clouded the scheduled resumption of India-Pakistan peace talks suspended after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.

“I condemn the incident in Pune,” Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told reporters. “We condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We want the region to be free from this menace. We want to have good relations with India. We want talks to be meaningful.” The Pune bombing came a day after India and Pakistan agreed to resume official talks following a 14-month hiatus.