Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir will be meeting at New Delhi on February 25,2010, under a face-saving formula which would enable both the governments to claim that the respective stand taken by them after the 26/11 terrorist strike in Mumbai stands vindicated by this meeting.
Pakistan has reportedly accepted India's proposal to hold foreign secretary-level talks on February 25 in New Delhi.Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had proposed February 18 or February 25 as tentative dates for the talks during her meeting with Pakistan High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik last week.The decision was taken at a meeting held at the prime minister's house in Islamabad. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani chaired the meeting.
Upping the ante, Pakistan on Thursday accused India of trying to sidestep the Kashmir issue and insisted on its inclusion in the upcoming foreign secretary- level talks, saying the composite dialogue on all outstanding issues is the 'only way forward.'
Pakistan has indicated its readiness for the foreign secretary-level talks on February 25, saying the two sides need to 'move forward' but insisted on resumption of composite dialogue covering Kashmir and other outstanding issues that is 'meaningful and result-oriented.'
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will chair the inter-ministerial meeting at the Foreign Office in Islamabad on Wednesday to assess the Indian offer of talks, after which a clearer picture of Pakistan's response is expected to emerge.
India has proposed February 18 and 25 to Pakistan as the dates for foreign secretary-level talks as part of a "practical and pragmatic" approach to seek redressal of its core concern of cross-border terrorism but warns that there will be a huge setback if a 26/11-type terror attack is repeated.
India's proposal to resume talks with Pakistan has been welcomed by the Pakistani media, with leading dailies saying the move amounted to a realistic understanding of regional ground realities and would come as a "slap" to terrorists opposed to peace between the two nations.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, while talking to reporters at the airport in his hometown of Multan on Saturday, described the cooperation between the two countries "as the key to ensuring successful prosecution of the culprits" involved in the Mumbai attacks.
United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday ruled out the possibility of his country playing a role in facilitating the resumption of the composite dialogue between Pakistan and India, which has been stalled since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Backing India's evidence on Mumbai attacks as 'totally credible', France on Saturday asked Pakistan to extend full cooperation to ensure that those behind the carnage are punished in the 'most severe way'.At the same time, the influential European nation advocated that India and Pakistan should resume composite dialogue at an appropriate time as 'they have to live side by side'.
India on Tuesday said it is not in a position to resume composite dialogue with Pakistan till 'vigorous prosecution' is mounted against the accused in the Mumbai terror attack case and the infrastructure of terror across the border, responsible for numerous attacks on Indian soil, is dismantled. "We can certainly talk to Pakistan when the time comes. Let them understand that those who have harmed India are the very same forces that threaten them," he said.
Accusing the ruling United Progressive Alliance of losing grip of the situation in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has suggested that the government should call off composite dialogue with Pakistan as that country has not responded adequately to India's demands.
Pakistan will soon decide when and where to present the proof of India's alleged involvement in fomenting unrest in the country, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Friday.
Seeking resumption of composite dialogue, Pakistan has said that India must "act responsibly" and stop being negative or it too will lose interest in taking the peace process forward.
India and Pakistan have agreed to reinforce cooperation between their civilian investigation agencies to control cross-border terrorism, illegal immigration, influx of fake currency and liberalise the visa regime under the joint anti-terrorism mechanism
Indian Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta and his Pakistani counterpart Syed Kamal Shah met to discuss issues of terrorism, afflicting both the countries, with New Delhi expected to dwell upon Islamabad for extradition of some of the most wanted fugitives like Dawood Ibrahim, wanted in 1993 Bombay blasts cases.
Ambassador Robert Blake, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, on Tuesday said that the Indo-Pakistan ties would improve if the suspects of the Mumbai attack are tried and convicted by Islamabad.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday said the US would support all efforts for the early resumption of the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan, as she responded to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's call for US meditation in resolving outstanding issues like Kashmir.
Pakistan remains committed to the peace process and composite dialogue with India, which is now in its fourth round, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said.
Accusing Pakistan of not being serious about punishing the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Saturday said India has provided enough evidence for their prosecution. He also made it clear that Pakistan was to be blamed for the suspension of the composite dialogue, after the terror strikes on Mumbai in November last year, and said it has to take the initiative for the resumption of the process.
Pakistan was "cooperating closely" with India on the investigations in a terror attack case on a key air force base in Pathankot earlier this year, the country's top diplomat has said.
Almost all the leading newspapers reported little progress on the talks between New Delhi and Islamabad, that concluded with the signing of a key agreement for consular access to prisoners. In its front-page report, leading English daily the Dawn said that "Qureshi, Mukherjee made little progress -- Pakistan offers grand reconciliation."
President Pervez Musharraf has welcomed resumption of the composite dialogue process between India and Pakistan, hoping it would lead to "some fruitful and substantial" conclusion. Musharraf, who has supervised several rounds of talks with India, was given a presentation by the foreign ministry during a meeting attended by Foreign Minister Qureshi, Foreign Secretary Bashir and other senior officials, on the eve of the two-day talks to be held.
Briefing leaders from PoK on its Kashmir policy ahead of crucial meetings with India to review the composite dialogue process, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi noted that the issue had remained "unresolved despite several attempts at bilateral and multilateral levels" over the last six decades. Pakistan "was ready to engage with India in a constructive dialogue to find a solution that is acceptable to all parties, in particular the people of Kashmir," he was quoted.
Tariq Fatemi, former Pakistani ambassador to the United States and principal foreign policy adviser to erstwhile prime minister Nawaz Sharif, has urged New Delhi to lift the 'pause button' on the Indo-Pakistan composite dialogue, which was imposed after the Mumbai terror attacks.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani's meeting at Bhutanese capital Thimphu is a positive development but the meeting could not be called as a big breakthrough' as neither any agenda for further talks nor was ant decision to resume the composite dialogue taken, say Pakistani experts
Advani, the leader of opposition in Parliament, said although he encouraged the composite dialogue process between India and Pakistan, he believed that other issues, like information and commerce, should precede Kashmir.Although the Kashmir problem would take time to resolve, Advani was optimistic that a day would come when India and Pakistan would form a confederation to solve the issue.He stressed that cross-border terrorism is a serious bone of contention.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday made it clear that the composite dialogue with Pakistan would not be possible until Islamabad shows 'visible results' with regard to the investigation in the Mumbai terror attacks. The Prime Minister said that Islamabad should convince New Delhi about their 'sincerity and determination' to deal with the menace of terrorism.
Pakistan has to do more to dismantle the terror infrastructure on its soil if it wants to resume the peace process with New Delhi, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in New Delhi on Tuesday."As far as the composite dialogue is concerned, it has been paused. We expect Pakistan to do more to dismantle the terror infrastructure," Mukherjee told reporters. Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik had met Mukherjee on Monday.
Describing India as a 'mature democracy,' Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said there is no threat to Pakistan from it, even as he sought resumption of the composite dialogue process stalled since the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Some measures such as visa liberalisation and free medical treatment of Pakistani children had been implemented unilaterally by India.
Dismissing India's contention that ISI could be involved in the recent blasts in various cities, Pakistan on that such allegations could vitiate the atmosphere for the ongoing Composite Dialogue process. "Pakistan rejects the allegations leveled by the National Security Adviser of India, M K Narayanan, about the suspected involvement of ISI in Ludhiana, Ajmer and Mecca Masjid blasts," Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Sadiq said in Islamabad on Thursday.
Close on the heels of the US asking it to lend "absolute" cooperation to New Delhi over the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan proposed on Tuesday, the formation of a joint investigating mechanism with India to probe the deadly terror strikes that have sparked tension in bilateral ties.
Pakistan has said it could focus on American demands to do more in the war on terror only if the US used its influence with India to lessen tensions and to press for resumption of the stalled composite dialogue process.
India on Monday conveyed its concern to Pakistan over the recent spurt in border ceasefire violations and the attack on its embassy in Kabul for which ISI has been blamed.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif was taken into confidence on the issue when he met PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Monday to congratulate him on being elected president, Qureshi said.
In his 45-minute I-Day address, the 71-year-old economist-turned-politician outlined the road map for a prosperous Bharat and spoke about the empowerment of people and ways to make government more transparent and officials accountable.
Accusing "elements" in Pakistan for the suicide attack on Indian mission in Kabul, India Monday made it clear that the recent spate of terror attacks and ceasefire violations triggered from across the border have put the peace process "under stress". In some tough-talking, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon told his Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir that these concerns of New Delhi must be addressed.
The meeting of the Working Group on cross-Line of Control CBMs made several decisions that will be announced when the foreign secretaries meet in New Delhi during July 21-22 to launch the fifth round of the composite dialogue, official sources told PTI.
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