Resuming composite dialogue makes no sense, says Menon

Despite Pakistan's insistence on resuming the composite dialogue with India, New Delhi on Wednesday ruled it out, saying going back to the same process did "not make sense" and "we have to learn from history".

National security adviser Shivshankar Menon said the recent foreign secretary-level talks were aimed at exploring whether discussions could be taken forward.

"Frankly, just going back to doing the composite dialogue as it was when it ended up in 26/11, to our mind, does not make sense," Menon said at a book release function here.

"We have to learn from history, from what's happened to you, what is happening. So that's why we are talking. Which is why the whole point of those [foreign secretary-level] talks was to explore what's possible and where we can go with it," Menon said in response to a question from the audience.

His statement assumes significance as Pakistan has been
repeatedly pressing for a resumption of the composite dialogue under which eight specific issues, including Jammu & Kashmir, were being discussed. The dialogue was halted in the wake of the Mumbai attack.

Asked about the utility of the February 25 Indo-Pak talks in the backdrop of Pakistan not taking action against the 26/11 perpetrators and terror groups, he said: "We wouldn't talk if we knew exactly where we were going and what is possible."

On the talks themselves, Menon said he was not in a position
to describe the end state or outcome, but after the first round of talks between the foreign secretaries of both countries, it had to
be seen where the discussions could be taken in the future.

"We [India and Pakistan] have had one round. We have talked to each other and we have said what we think, what we would like. Let us see where we can take it forward," he added.

With regard to Afghanistan, Menon was asked if India would scale up or down its presence in the troubled country in the wake of the  recent attack targeting Indians there.

"India will continue to help restore the economy and democracy, and build projects that help the Afghan people and also find ways to do it in the environment that existed there today," the NSA said, making it clear that there would be no scaling down.

"What we are doing in Afghanistan is in response to what the Afghan people want. We are trying to restore the economy, we are trying to build the projects that help the Afghan people to lead a normal life, we are trying to help the restoration of democracy, which they want themselves," he said.

Asserting that India was doing what the Afghans want, he said, "We will continue to do that", but "we will find different ways of doing it, which enable us to continue to do it in that environment."

Rubbishing claims that a strategic culture did not exist in India, Menon said a strategic thinking had taken shape over the past few years. But he added that rational thinking was required.

Asked to define national security between the conceptual "skimpiness" and "obesity", the NSA said that though conceptually
national security could be wider in ambit, the Indian capacity to actually deal with the issues was "still very limited and evolving".

He said there was need for a little ambition by broadening the definition of national security beyond hard security issues.