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| Terrorism, Kashmir figure in Ist Indo-Pak talks after 26/11 | | | Agencies
ISLAMABAD, June 24: In the first Indo-Pak foreign secretary level talks held after 26/11 at Islamabad today as a confidence building measure (CBM), several bilateral issues, including terrorism and Kashmir, were discussed. The CBM was aimed at bridging the trust deficit between the two countries. It would also firm up the agenda for the meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries next month. The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan held discussions on a range of issues, including Kashmir, in the first such meeting in Islamabad since the Mumbai terror attack in a bid to revive the
bilateral dialogue.The Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao began delegation-level talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir on bilateral issues, including terrorims, the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and confidence-building steps.
The talks will firm up the agenda for the crucial meeting between Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad July 15. A day before the foreign secretaries began talks in Islamabad, Krishna struck a realistic note on the talks. "We don't expect anything spectacular. The relationship between India and Pakistan is so complex," he said. The purpose of the talks is to prepare for his visit to Islamabad next month, he added.
Terrorism tops the agenda for the talks. India had revealed that it was ready for 'open' talks with Pakistan. India's concerns about the Pak-based terror grouops like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad would be among the other issues that would be raised by Rao during her meeting with Bashir at the foreign office . Rao, the first senior Indian official to visit Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, and Bashir have been tasked by prime ministers Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani to find ways to bridge the trust deficit and prepare the ground for a meeting of the foreign ministers on July 15.
Rao is expected to ask Pakistan to speed up the trial of seven 26/11 terror attack suspects in Pakistan, take concrete action against Hafiz Saeed, the suspected mastermind of the Mumbai carnage, and against those groups with declared anti-India agenda.
The spike in cross-border infiltration and ceasefire violations will also figure in the discussions. Pakistan will try to find a "common denominator" during upcoming talks with Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao without "forgetting" outstanding issues like Kashmir, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir has said. "We do not have a prepared agenda. We will see what can be identified as doable and then take it to the Foreign Ministers' level. In this meeting, we will try and find a common denominator," Bashir said, referring to talks he will hold with Rao in Islamabad on June 24.
"There has to be a comfort level on both sides which will help us pick up the doable for the Foreign Ministers. This is the first round of talks since the thaw initiated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani nearly two months ago, directing their foreign ministers and secretaries to meet and work out modalities of restoring trust between them. Ten terrorists had held Mumbai hostage for 60 hours in November 2008, killing 166 Indians and foreigners. India gave 11 dossiers to Pakistan, linking some Pakistani nationals and groups to the Mumbai carnage.
During the talks, New Delhi is expected to press Islamabad to take stronger action to address its concerns over terrorist activities it says are planned and directed against Indian assets from Pakistan.
Rao is expected to ask Pakistan to speed up the trial of seven 26/11 terror attack suspects in Pakistan, take concrete action against Hafiz Saeed, the suspected mastermind of the Mumbai carnage, and against those groups with declared anti-India agenda. The spike in cross-border infiltration and ceasefire violations will also figure in the discussions. New Delhi has said it is going into these talks in an "exploratory mode" and "not in an accusatory mode" to work out confidence-building steps that could pave the way for a renewed full-fledged bilateral dialogue. India is expected to ask Pakistan to pursue trust-building steps like an early meeting of the judicial committee on prisoners, enhanced commercial and economic ties and cross-border trade.
Pakistan is likely to raise the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and allegations that India was covertly aiding insurgent groups in Balochistan. The sources in the Foreign Office acknowledged that India would certainly raise the issue of groups like the LeT during the talks but said they believed this would not become a "sticking point" as Indian officials have recently said they are approaching the parleys in "an exploratory and not an accusatory manner". |
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