India ticks off Kerry over Indo-Pak talks

United States senator John Kerry, who met prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday afternoon for 20 minutes, was politely ticked off when he waxed eloquent about the need for India and Pakistan to engage in talks.

India was annoyed because New Delhi was in no mood to listen to lectures from outsiders after Saturday’s terror strike.

Braving domestic criticism, Singh had made the first move by inviting Pakistan’s foreign secretary for talks, and he did not need a senator to tell him to make peace with Islamabad.

India let it be known that  after the Pune blast, talks  between the two foreign secretaries would focus solely on terror. Delhi argues that unless the terror infrastructure that facilitates attacks by anti-India groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is destroyed, there can be no forward movement in  relations with Islamabad.

Officials wonder what Washington’s response will be if it was subject to similar terror attacks. Pakistan and the situation in Afghanistan were also  discussed. “The right thing is to talk. You lose nothing by talking,” Kerry said in an interview to Wall Street Journal.

On what happens if India finds a Pakistani link to the Pune attack, he said, “I hope India will have that conversation with Pakistan and if they have evidence to that effect, it should be the first thing on the table and Pakistan has to deal with it.”

Kerry said the “greatest mistake” in responding to another terror strike that emanated from Pakistan would be for India and Pakistan to give those responsible what they want: Tension between India and Pakistan and subversion of democracy and the rule of law.

Kerry arrived from Doha on Sunday, a day after the  attack on German Bakery in Pune. He is batting for US  interests in the region, which is to ensure Pakistan’s military can concentrate on the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban without worrying about India.