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| India toughens stand on talks | | |
India seems to have toughened its stand vis-a-vis Pakistan after Delhi found Islamabad not responding to its demand for either handing over 34 militants,including Lashkar-i-Toiba Chief,Hafiz Saeed,to India,where they are wanted in connection with their involvement in the year old Mumbai
carnage or severe action against them within Pakistan.Delhi's resentment against Islamabad became evident when India conveyed to Pakistan that it was keen to have another rof foreign secretary level talks but the dialogue could begin only after Islamabad intiated adequate measures for dismantling terror infrastructure and for penalising all those who were involved or had engineered the Mumbai attacks.It was on February 25 that after a gap of about 14 months the two sides held the first round of foreign secretary level talks in Delhi.The Pakistan Foreign secretary,Salman Bashir had travelled to Delhi to have a session with his counterpart,Nirupama Rao.As was expected the February talks were simply utilised on exchaning grievances and demands.While Delhi conveyed to Islamabad that Pakistan had taken no action against those involved in Mumbai carnage and the soil of Pakistan was being used for exporting terror to India,Salman Bashir blamed Delhi for its
involvement in Baluchistan turmoil.He also held India guilty of violating the Indus Water Treaty.Nirupama Rao vehemently denied the charge and wanted her counterpart to substantiate it with documentary evidence which
the Pakistan side failed to produce.However,Rao accepted the invitation from Bashir for holding another round of Foreign secretary level talks in Islamabad.It is in this context that Delhi sounded Pakistan telling Islamabad that India was willing to have another round of foreign secretary level talks provided action was taken on those 34 militants,including Lashkar chief,who India had found to have been involved or had engineered Mumbai strikes.India's offer had been made a week ago but Islamabad has been silent when it has been vocal in pleading for the resumption of the composite dialogue.The way Delhi played its card this time is appreciable because it has placed the ball in the court of Islamabad.The American Government has been pleading for resolving bilateral problems through talks and Delhi does not want to give an impression that it is opposed to the process of dialogue.In fact it was been the result of the initiative that India took in 2003
that culminated in the ceasefire on the LOC in Jammu and Kashmir.On many an occasions Prime Minister,Manmohan Singh,announced that India was willing to walk a mile more if Islamabad took adequate steps for dismantling the terror infrastructure.Hitherto Islamabad has not done much.It wants to do enough the rid Pakistan of the menace of terrorism but the the way a section in the Pakistan Army and the ISI function possibilities of demolishing the camps where militants are receiving arms training seem to be remote.It is time for the American Government,that has been helping Pakistan to come out its financial crisis and that has been giving a lot of military and nonmilitary aid to Islamabad, to mount pressure on the establishment in Islamabad to take in hand sufficient measures that could prevent the extremists from using the soil of Pakistan for exporting terrorism to India.Once it is done peace cannot elude the subcontinent.
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