Islamabad, June 24: India and Pakistan Thursday agreed that dialogue was “the best way forward” and should not be allowed to be derailed by “militant groups”.
“We should jointly work together towards our goal of resolution of outstanding issues and also to dealing with the dangers, with the threat of terrorism,” Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said after holding delegation level talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir in Islamabad.
“We believe that dialogue is the best way forward,” Rao said at a packed press conference. She clearly indicated that the talks were the harbinger of closer dialogue between India and Pakistan in the coming months. “During our discussions, we have accepted the modalities for restoring trust and confidence for comprehensive sustained and meaningful dialogue,” added Rao.
However, she demurred from stating that this was a resumption of the Comprehensive Dialogue, which India had suspended after the Mumbai attacks in November 2008. “You must focus that dialogue is the best option for deepening relationship. It is not an issue of nomenclature,” said Rao.
Rao said the two countries have been expressing commitment to a serious, sustained and comprehensive dialogue and they were seeking to re-engage each other. “We owe it to our people to chart out a course for normalisation of relations, narrow differences and embark upon a collaborative engagement,” she said.
At the same time, India’s “core concern about terrorism (was) also articulated” at the discussion and Pakistan reminded about Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani’s commitment that its soil will not be used against India. “We believe that is an important commitment,” said Rao.
She was referring to the “commitment” made at the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Gilani in Thimpu (Bhutan) on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in April this year.
She added that both sides will have to work together so that these “dangers, threats and evils of terrorism” are countered effectively.
The Pakistani Foreign Secretary described the talks as being marked with “great deal of cordiality, sincerity and earnestness.”
“I would like to borrow a phrase from Nirupama Rao, that this has been a good essay in mutual comprehension,” Bashir said and added that the two countries adopted a forward looking approach and discussed “all issues of concern and mutual interest.”
Bashir said that after Thursday’s engagement, he was “much more optimistic about the good outcome for the ministerial level meeting”. He was referring to the meeting between Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi on July 15.
“We have been able to review comprehensively the state of bilateral relations. All issues of concern and interest touched upon, always keeping in mind the need to move ahead,” said Bashir.
On the issue of terrorism, Bashir said both countries were discussing ways to cooperate in counter-terrorism, which would be discussed in detail at the meeting of Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram and his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik Saturday.
“We will not allow terrorists space to act against each other,” he said.
This is the second stand-alone meeting between the two foreign secretaries this year. Foreign Secretary Bashir had travelled to New Delhi for talks in February.
“I am much more confident of good results at the ministerial meeting,” said Bashir. “All in all, it was a most useful meeting,” he added of the talks.
“It was a good essay in mutual comprehension,” Bashir said, adding: “All issues were touched upon.”
“We need to move forward,” Bashir said.
Meanwhile, Nirupama Rao had a separate meeting with Pakistani Foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi wherein they discussed the issue of mutual concern.
The meeting between the Foreign Secretaries was meant to set the agenda for the July 15 meeting between Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart S M Krishna.
Before that, Home Minister P Chidambaram is due to visit on Islamabad on Saturday for a meeting of the SAARC home ministers.
Commenting on the secretary-level meeting, noted peace activist and writer General (retired) Talat Masood told Greater Kashmir that the engagement was a good beginning and said that rather than moving on spontaneously there was a need to have a structured dialogue to seek settlement of all the issues including Kashmir.
“There are several issues like bilateral-trade, commerce, terrorism or the issue of Kashmir I think all these issues must be addressed through a structured dialogue,” he said.

Pak flags Kashmir, India terrorism
Islamabad, June 24: Making the first effort to bridge the trust deficit between the two countries, Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan Thursday
discussed all issues of mutual concern with New Delhi flagging its core concern on terrorism while Pakistan raised the Kashmir issue as the first round bilateral talks.
Pakistan also demanded reduction of Indian troops from the border and withdrawal of what they call ‘draconian’laws, sources said.
India’s top agenda in the talks is cross border terrorism and taking legal action against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack.
Qureshi optimistic Meanwhile, Pakistan expressed optimism over the ongoing Indo-Pak foreign secretary level talks in Islamabad and said that both countries should build on the talks to bridge the trust deficit.
“I think this dialogue is a step forward, definitely a step forward. The fact that the two sides have resumed the dialogue agreed to sit together, to talk on the issues of mutual concern, is an important development and, we should build on this development,” Pakistan Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi told a wire agency.
Asked whether the Indo-Pak dialogue could bridge the existing “trust deficit”, he said: “Why not, where there is a will, there is a way.”

Lastupdate on : Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT
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