ISLAMABAD – Rather than doing something serious that might lead to the solution of the disputes between the two nuclear-armed South Asian states, India has handed over two more dossiers to Pakistan.
On the other hand, sources from India informed TheNation on Thursday that Prime Ministers of Pakistan and India were likely to hold a meeting on 28th April following foreign secretary-level talks. A top-level source from Prime Minister Secretariat also confirmed this when contacted by this correspondent.
According to insiders, the meeting lasted for about an hour with photo-op and grip-and-grin in Shastri Bhavan, India. However, contrary to the expectations, the first meeting between senior officials of India and Pakistan since the Mumbai attack is likely to yield no results due to IndiaÂ’s non-cooperative attitude.
“I am happy to meet you, but my mandate is to tell you that the territory of Pakistan must not be used for terrorism,” Indian Foreign Secretary Miss Nirupama Rao told Foreign Secretary Salman when they met before the meeting, sources informed TheNation on Thursday.
When contacted on telephone, spokesperson of Foreign office Abdul Basit confirmed that India had served the Pakistani delegation with two more dossiers on Mumbai attack before talks. However, he declined to share details of fresh dossier when asked.
He further said that Pakistan had raised the issue of Indian involvement in Balochistan and suggested Indian side a peaceful solution of Kashmir, however Indian side, once again, disappointed Pakistan.
“Yes we have conveyed to Indian side our concerns regarding Indian involvement in Balochistan and also suggested India a peaceful solution of Kashmir but there are no positive signs from other side,” Basit told this correspondent from Shastri Bhavan.
However, these developments point to resumption of some sort of talks in near future. Such talks can help ease tensions and stabilise region, however it entirely depends upon Indian attitude, official said.
It is pertinent to note here that William J Burns, the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, in November last nudged India by resurrecting the Kashmir issue in his public remarks, saying that the wishes of the Kashmiri people should be taken into account in any settlement.
When contacted on Thursday, former diplomat Shamshad Ahmad said that success of talks purely depended upon Indian attitude.
Agencies add: No substantial progress was made during secretary-level talks held between Pakistan and India here on Thursday as both sides remained stuck to their guns. Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir while talking to Pakistani press at the High Commission in the evening said the gap between Pakistan and India was widening and he had not seen any substantial progress in the talks.
When asked whether he has invited Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to Islamabad for talks, he said there was no such proposal. “Pakistan has given some suggestions and India has also submitted proposals during the meeting but I told them that Pakistan wants result-oriented and meaningful dialogue with India”. There is no need of secretary-level talks if India remains stuck to its stand on outstanding issues, he added.
Describing the attitude of India as untenable, he said India was sticking to its stand on issues including that of terrorism while Pakistan wanted that this issue should not make talks hostage. He said PakistanÂ’s role to fight against terrorism had been acknowledged by the world and Pakistan was giving priority to this issue as it was also victim of this menace.
When asked whether there was a deadlock in the talks, he said he would not use this word. “I can not say whether these talks were successful or unsuccessful,” he said. Pakistan wanted good neighbourly relationship with India and wanted to engage New Delhi for “meaningful and result-oriented talks”.
Salman Bashir said Pakistan was enjoying a good position in the world which had better understanding about PakistanÂ’s policies. When asked that the Indian Foreign Secretary had told newsmen that Pakistan had briefly touched Kashmir during the talks, he said he would not subscribe to her views as Kashmir was a core issue and it was raised effectively during the talks.
When asked about the water issue, Salman Bashir said Pakistan had handed over a paper to India on the issue and hoped that India would consider to resolve this issue under the Indus Basin Treaty.
Earlier, addressing a press conference after the talks at the Pakistan High Commission, Salman Bashir said he reaffirmed at the talks that Pakistan wanted good neighbourly relations with New Delhi. He also underscored for greater cooperation including intelligence sharing between both the neighbours to effectively deal with menace of terrorism. Pakistan had already taken up steps against suspects of Mumbai attacks and it would also look into two dossiers handed over by India to Pakistan during the talks which included names of some wanted persons.
Terrorism has global, regional and local dimensions and it should be tackled with close cooperation with each other. Salman Bashir said he himself had given information to Indian High commissioner in Islamabad on terrorism. Salman Bashir said Composite Dialogue process had made achievements including that of cross-LoC trade and movement of Kashmiris. Kashmir issue is also one of the subjects in the dialogue progress which is needed to be resolved for the sake of peace.
Kashmir is a core issue and he told the Indian side that Kashmiris should be included in any future talks on Kashmir and this issue should be resolved for the sake of peace in the nuclearised South Asia.
When asked about the attitude of Indian side on Kashmir issue, he said they explained their stated position on the subject. The Foreign Secretary said he also raised Kashmir issue during his meeting with the Indian National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon.
He said both the countries were close to resolution of Siachen and Sir Creek issues.
Salman Bashir said that Pakistan-India talks focused extensively not briefly on Kashmir. Hours after Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Bashir held parleys, the latter said in a press conference that Pakistan wanted good ties with India and that IndiaÂ’s concerns on terror were valid.
“Kashmir was discussed extensively not briefly… One cannot be really dismissive about the issue of Kashmir; any effort to be dismissive on the issue will not be helpful,” said Bashir minutes after Rao held a press conference.
“We are concerned about human right violations in J&K,” Bashir said.
“It is unfair and unrealistic and, in our view, counterproductive to… keep the focus on that (Mumbai) to stall the process of the broader relationship between the two countries,” Bashir said.
They were the first official talks between the two countries since India suspended dialogue in the wake of the 2008 assault on Mumbai. Urging India to move forward and resume full-fledged peace talks, Bashir warned that neither country could afford to remain disengaged.
“This is a nuclearised region. It is important that India and Pakistan engage on a whole range of issues,” he said. He added in an apparent reference to India’s focus on militancy during the talks, that “Pakistan does not believe that India should lecture us and demand Pakistan does this or that.” He added, “That is not how interstate relations are conducted.”
Earlier, Rao had said the time was not yet ripe to revive the comprehensive dialogue, citing a continuing “trust deficit” following the Mumbai carnage.
“We are not desperate,” Bashir stressed. “If India takes more time to reflect on the modalities of engagement, they will find us ready,” he said.
Bashir also insisted that dealing with terrorism was his government’s “number one priority” and argued that Pakistan was only too aware of the trauma and violence inflicted by terror attacks.
“India has had one 26/11, we have had a 1,000 Mumbais,” he said. “For anyone to think that Pakistan would be dismissive of this problem, he does not have his facts right,” Bashir said.
Reacting to India’s demand to arrest Hafiz Saeed, Bashir said, “The docket given by India on Hafiz Saeed is a piece of literature not a dossier.” “Pakistan looks forward to reversing the tide of regression that has taken place in its relationship with India,” he said. Bashir said Pakistan is willing to address and resolve Siachen and Sir Creek issues which we believe are doable.
“Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has a vision for peaceful and prosperous South Asia.
There is a huge gap between expectations and mistrust that exists between both the countries today. I have come here to bridge those differences,” he said.
“We will continue to ensure that our territory is not used by anyone against us or any other country,” Bashir said. “To create an optics of dialogue without substance means we are not taking relationship seriously or dealing with issues seriously.”
Pakistan accused India of covertly supplying weapons to “militants and terrorists” in Balochistan from Afghanistan. Pakistan Foreign Secretary told reporters that there was “clear evidence of (Indian) activities prejudicial to Pakistan’s security being undertaken from foreign soil, including efforts at destabilisation, supply of weapons to militants and terrorists”.
“We have ample evidence, including photographic evidence, of these activities.”
Pakistan accuses India of using Afghanistan as a base to support insurgents in Balochistan. New Delhi denies the charge.
During the talks with Rao, Bashir said he had stressed “the great importance” Pakistan attached to finding a peaceful solution to the issue of Kashmir.
“Terrorism is a regional, global concern. It’s our concern as well,” Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters shortly before talks began.
“But Kashmir issue is the core. .. It is an issue that continues to bedevil our relationship and not discussing this issue will not do justice to this meeting.”
Indian Foreign Secretary Rao during her press talk told reporters that the first official talks with Pakistan in 14 months had marked a “first step” towards rebuilding trust between the two neighbours.
“We had set out to take a first step towards rebuilding trust and I believe my meeting with the Pakistan foreign secretary constituted that first step,” Rao told reporters.
“We have agreed to remain in touch,” she said, while adding that the time was “not right as yet” to resume a full-fledged peace dialogue as requested by Pakistan. She did not say if there would be a next round of talks.
Rao said she had pressed the Pakistani side on the issue of terrorism and handed over two dossiers requesting further action against those responsible for the attacks, as well as other “fugitives from Indian law” believed to be sheltering in Pakistan.
“I spelt out forthrightly our concerns on terrorism emanating from Pakistan against India,” she said.
While acknowledging steps Pakistan had taken to bring the guilty to book, Rao said she had stressed that India felt these “did not go far enough to unravel the full conspiracy” behind the carnage in Mumbai that left 166 dead.
Rao also stated that she had raised the issues of 26/11 probe, roles of Hafiz Saeed and Illyas Kashmiri, and Pune blasts with her Pakistani counterpart.
She added that Pakistan was informed that India had taken a serious note of JuD rallies.
“I told my counterpart that terrorism cannot advance any cause, but the cause of senseless violence,” she said.
Rao described her aims going into the talks as “modest” but said she had enjoyed “useful, detailed and candid” discussions and noted the “good chemistry” between the two delegations.
The Indian foreign secretary made it clear that India didnÂ’t receive any dossier from Pakistan on Balochistan.
Rao and her Pakistani counterpart met in a former princely palace in a heavily guarded New Delhi neighbourhood that also houses the parliament and the presidential palace.
Rao, wearing a black and red sari, and Bashir in a dark suit shook hands in front of the camera before walking into a sprawling room for a one-on-one meeting followed by delegation-level talks.
The Pakistani delegation comprised Afrasiab, director-general of the South Asia division and a former deputy high commissioner to India, PakistanÂ’s High Commissioner Shahid Malik, Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit and other senior officials.
Rao hosted a lunch for the Pakistani delegation.
The Pakistani delegation was also to call on Indian National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, a former foreign secretary and a former Indian envoy to Islamabad, later on Thursday evening.
On Friday morning, the Pakistanis will call on External Affairs Minister SM Krishna before heading back to Islamabad.
Earlier, senior Indian government sources informed that India demanded handing over by Pakistan of founder of Lashker-e-Taiba Hafiz Saeed and seven others, besides some other Indian Mujahideen and Khalistan rebels, reported Times of India.
Two dossiers were handed over to Salman Bashir, sources stated.
In the first dossier, India demanded that besides Saeed, Lashker operatives Muzzamil, Abu Hamza, Abu Khafa and Usman should be handed over to it.
All of them have been named in the chargesheet filed by Mumbai police in connection with the 2008 Mumbai attack.
India also asked Pakistan to hand over Lashker commander Sajid Mir, retired Army Major Iqbal and one more person for questioning as they were still suspects in the 26/11 attack.
The Mumbai terror attack dossier also included a separate demand for handing over of Illyas Kashmiri.
The second dossier demanded handing over of seven Khalistani militants and 17 Indian Mujahideen which includes five Pakistani nationals.
In a retort to Pakistan’s contention that it was “not desperate” for dialogue, India on Wednesday night said it was not desperate for talks.
“These are genuine concerns… We are not lecturing,” the sources said while rebutting BashirÂ’s point that Pakistan did not like to receive sermons. They went on to add that dialogue should not be measured in terms of desperation etc.
The sources rejected Bashir’s contention that issues like Kashmir, Balochistan and water were discussed “extensively” in today’s talks, underlining that 85 percent of the discussions were on terrorism emanating from Pakistan and 10 other issues figured in the remaining 15 percent of the three-hour-long talks.