India, Pakistan break the ice, foreign ministers to resume talks

Bringing in a thaw in bilateral relations, the prime ministers of India and Pakistan today agreed to resume dialogue at the level of foreign ministers soon.

This dialogue could lead to parleys on all outstanding issues like terrorism, Jammu & Kashmir, and Siachen.

The ice was broken at a 90-minute meeting here between Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani in their first substantive engagement after their discussions in Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt in July last year, which produced a controversial joint statement.

The meeting in Bhutan House on the margins of the Saarc summit discussed the entire range of issues, including terrorism and the progress of investigation in Pakistan into the 26/11 attack on Mumbai.

The two prime ministers entrusted their respective foreign ministers and foreign secretaries with the responsibility of restoring confidence and trust in the relations that could pave the way for substantive dialogue on outstanding issues of mutual concern.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said Singh emphatically told Pakistan that it has to act on the issue of terrorism and that the "terror machine" in that country needs to be eliminated.

Singh conveyed "deep and continuing concern" over the fact that 26/11 mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed was being allowed to roam freely and "engage in language and communications that are certainly not conducive to an atmosphere of peace and stability", she said.

Gilani assured Singh that his government was making all efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack on Mumbai and to not allow Pakistani soil to be used for terrorism against India.

Both sides termed as "positive", "cordial", "very friendly" and "free and frank" the discussions between the prime ministers, which lasted beyond the slated 45 minutes. The private meeting lasted an hour. Thereafter, parleys with the respective delegations went on for 30 minutes.

While there was no joint statement, the separate press conferences addressed by Rao and Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were similar in tone.

Singh "emphasised to prime minister Gilani various issues that cause concern to India — issues relating to terrorism, rise in infiltration, and slow progress in the trial of Mumbai attack perpetrators".

Rao said Singh told Gilani that India is willing to discuss all issues of concern with Pakistan and to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue, "but that the issue of terrorism is holding back progress".

After their Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting, Singh and Gilani had met a couple of times in Washington, but it was just for a handshake.

The joint statement after the Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting had kicked up a storm in India with the opposition attacking the government for appearing to delink the resumption of dialogue and Pakistan's action against terrorists, especially those involved
in the Mumbai attack.

It had also made a reference to Balochistan, where Pakistan alleges India is fomenting trouble.

Rao said today's meeting was "an exercise in mutual comprehension because there is lack of mutual trust in the relationship impeding the process of normalisation".

The meeting assessed the reasons for the current state of affairs between the neighbours and "to think afresh on the way forward", the foreign secretary said.

"They [the prime ministers] agreed that relations between the countries should be normalised and the channels of contact should work effectively to enlarge the constituency of peace in both countries," Rao said.

"The two prime ministers had agreed earlier that dialogue is the only way forward. They reiterated that commitment," she said. "They not only reiterated [the commitment], but the two prime ministers agreed to resume the dialogue process between India
and Pakistan that had remained suspended for so many months. That is a very positive development," Qureshi said.

"It was a very positive meeting. It is a step in the right direction," Qureshi said.

He said both leaders agreed that dialogue is the only way forward.

There was lot of "soul-searching" and "confluence of thoughts", Rao said while describing the meeting as a process to understand the state of affairs and charting out a course
forward, "while not abandoning the past.

On Gilani's response to the concerns raised by Singh, Rao said the "Pakistani prime minister shared his perception on these issues in a candid manner and said Pakistan is serious about prosecuting the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack and that all efforts were being made to bring the trial of these individuals to a speedy conclusion."

Rao said Gilani also assured the prime minister that Pakistan will not allow its territory to be used for terrorist activities directed against India.

Asked if the outcome of the Singh-Gilani meeting would pave the way for a resumption of the composite dialogue between the neighbours, she said, "I don't think we have to get stuck with nomenclatures"

She said both sides agreed that dialogue is the only way forward and it was essential to open channels of communication.

Rao added that there was a need to restore trust and build mutual confidence.

On the issue of Saeed, Gilani said there are some difficulties as far as Pakistan's judicial system is concerned in tackling such issues.

"We expressed the hope that their laws to deal with such issues could be strengthened in times to come," the foreign secretary said.

She said both sides agreed that the foreign ministers and foreign secretaries will take this process forward to try and build more trust and confidence in the relationship and address all issues of mutual concern.

But she said no modalities had been worked out so far. "Both sides have agreed to meet as soon as possible. We have not fixed any dates so far," she said.

"The instruction of the prime minister is that the foreign ministers and foreign secretaries should meet as soon as possible," Rao said, adding that the "focus is charting the course forward. That definitely is the message from today's meeting... Searchlight is really on the future and not on the past."

"Our concerns about terrorism remain very much on the agenda," Rao said when asked if India was delinking terror from dialogue.

Qureshi said the foreign ministers and foreign secretaries had been asked "to meet as soon as possible and meet as frequently as possible."

Singh maintained that it would be essential for Pakistan to address the issue of terrorism and Gilani understood India's concerns in this regard, Rao said.

She said Singh was "emphatic in mentioning that Pakistan has to act on the issue of terrorism, that the terror machine as he termed it that operates from Pakistan needs to be controlled, needs to be eliminated. That was very clearly said."

Gilani on his part said his country was equally seized of the issue and wants to deal with it "effectively and comprehensively".

Noting that  there was a lot of soul-searching, Rao said: "It [the meeting] resulted in an understanding between the two sides that we should honestly intend to take this forward for the good of our two countries, for the good of the region, and for the good of the destiny of our people.

"The idea was on renewal of dialogue, to understand the state of affairs in the relationship. What is it that is holding both sides back at the moment? How do we address the state of affairs?

"The meeting resulted in an understanding between the two sides... an  honest attempt to take this process forward."

While Rao said the issue of Balochistan was not taken up in a specific manner,  the Pakistani side maintained that it was raised and Singh categorically said India has no intention to destabilise Pakistan.

"We assure you that we don't want to meddle in Pakistan's affairs," Qureshi said Singh told Gilani.

Asserting that eventual normalisation between the countries was good for the people, Rao said that one terrorist attack, for example, sets the economy back by so many percentage points. She added that both sides want to focus on development and taking their economies forward, generally bring peace to the region.

Qureshi said it was in the interests of South Asia and the billion people in the region to keep the atmosphere between the countries positive.

"We have to build on the positive air that was generated from this meeting," he said.

The Pakistan foreign minister said the issue of extradition of Mumbai attack accused Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab and Fahim Ansari did not come up for discussion.

"This issue in particular was not discussed. But that does not mean there is any bar. We can discuss anything that is of mutual concern. There are no prohibitions," he said.

Asked when he would meet SM Krishna, Qureshi said he needed to contact his Indian counterpart on the timing of their meeting.

He noted that Krishna was currently busy with the Parliament session.

Later, speaking to an Indian television channel, Qureshi said: "I think the stalemate has been broken. I think so, I am very confident that the meeting we've had with the prime minister was very positive.

"As I have said and I have been consistently saying this to you, he [Manmohan Singh] has his heart in the right place, he is a well-meaning man, he is an academic, he is a visionary, he wants to move on."

"Today, I saw that positive spirit on both sides. The two prime ministers were chatting as friends and he said the relationship I want between India and Pakistan should be such that we address each other by first names," he said.