New Delhi: Pakistani and Indian Parliamentarians on May 9 agreed to "isolate" fundamentalist forces in both countries in a bid to remove obstacles in the way of normalisation of bilateral relations, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) leader Somnath Chatterjee said.

"Both sides agreed that fundamentalist forces existed in the two countries and were hampering the process of establishment of peace. These forces should be isolated," Chatterjee said after he hosted breakfast for the visiting 13-member Pakistani Parliamentarian delegation, which arrived in New Delhi on May 8.

While the visiting delegation was led by member of National Assembly Ishaq Khan Khakwani, the Indian side was represented among others by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, Congress leaders Shivraj Patil and Saifuddin Soz, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and CPM MPs Nilotpal Basu, Rupchand Pal, Hannan Mollah and A K Premajam.

The two sides felt there was no reason why peace, friendship and mutual co-operation between India and Pakistan could not be re-established, the CPM leader said, adding they also sought increased people-to-people contacts.

Chatterjee said the discussions were "very friendly" and "we had a heart-to-heart talk" on various issues.

PTI