India's foreign minister arrived in Pakistan on Saturday to review progress in peace talks between the two countries, officials said. Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was also expected to invite Pakistan's leadership to a regional summit. During his two-stay in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, Mukherjee was set to meet with Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam. Mukherjee was also to meet with his Pakistani counterpart Khursheed Kasuri, Tasnim Aslam was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. Shortly after arriving by special aircraft an air base near Islamabad, Mukherjee told reporters he was optimistic for the success of the peace process under way between India and Pakistan. Although the visit's main purpose is to invite Pakistan to New Delhi for this April's summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, or SAARC, the two sides were also expected to discuss how to carry forward their peace process, begun in 2004. Pakistan and India are main members of the SAARC, formed in 1985 to promote regional trade and economic cooperation. The SAARC's members are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
