New Delhi
28 March 2011
The 26/11 Mumbai attacks was the elephant in the room but the home
secretaries of India and Pakistan did not allow it to impede progress on humanitarian
issues such as the plight of prisoners and liberalisation of visas, which hold out the
promise of furthering the people-to-people contacts and encouraging civil society
interactions.
Home secretary GK Pillai described the over five-hour-long talks Monday as positive and
said that they were moving in the right direction. His Pakistani counterpart, Chaudhry
Qamar Zaman, echoed similar sentiments, after emerging from the venue of the talks
inside Ashok Hotel that was described as the ''friendship lounge''.
There was another day of talks to go, at the end of which a joint statement was likely,
and many more issues remaining to be discussed. But Mr Zaman insisted to journalists
that "a very positive attitude [was] displayed on both sides and I am really confident
about tomorrow's proceedings also".
The sources maintained that the talks were "substantive" and ''free and frank''. "The
talks were held according to what was decided on the sidelines in Thimphu[.] Some
decisions have been taken. Further progress is expected on issues of mutual concern,"
an official said.
The joint statement can be expected to outline the resolve of the two countries to combat
terrorism and mention steps to enhance people-to-people contacts, including, but not
limited to, a liberal visa regime.
Both sides were understood to have come close to reviving the joint judicial committee,
which was constituted in 2007 to survey the condition of prisoners lodged in jails in
either countries and press for the repatriation of those booked for minor offences such as
crossing the border and violating visas. The eight-member committee consisting of
retired Supreme Court and High Court judges from India and Pakistan was expected to
get a fresh lease of life and it was expected to make a visit to Pakistan soon.
While dossiers containing the names of terror suspects and wanted persons hiding in
each other's territory were exchanged, India was believed to have iterated its demand
for quick progress into the ongoing trial in Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 26
November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, to justice, and for the voice samples of the
Pakistani handlers of the 26/11 terrorists. Also, India wants to send a commission to
Pakistan to question the jailed Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) terrorists, including Zaki-ur-
Rehman Lakhvi in return for allowing a judicial commission from Pakistan to visit India
for questioning the investigating officer of the 26/11 probe and the judge of the trial court.
Fake Indian currency being pumped into India from Pakistan, cross-border infiltration,
and terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) were some of the other issues
raised by the Indian side.
For its part, Pakistan was keen to learn about the progress of investigation into the
Samjhauta Express train blasts case. Mr Pillai was understood to have told his Pakistani
counterpart that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was probing it, and any details
could be shared after a chargesheet was filed in the case. A majority of the 68 persons
killed in the blasts were from Pakistan.
The tone and tenor of the discussions indicated that both sides were keen to set a
positive tone for Wednesday's meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and
his Pakistani counterpart, Yousaf Raza Gilani, when they would exchange views on
mutual interest before reaching the Mohali cricket stadium for the World Cup semi-final
clash between India and Pakistan.
Mr Gilani said he has accepted Prime Minister Singh's invitation "in national interest."
He was reported to have told a Cabinet meeting in Islamabad Monday that it was a
timely opportunity for the two governments to show to the world that they can play
together and sit and deliberate together on issues of national importance.
For his part, Prime Minister Singh has staked a lot on improvement of ties with Pakistan
in spite of criticism from within a section of his own party. The outcomes of his
conversations with Gilani next week and the series of official-level talks planned over
the next few months would determine whether he Singh can make the journey to
Pakistan.
Mr Gilani was expected to reach Chandigarh Wednesday morning. Besides the talks,
Prime Minister Singh was expected to host a dinner for Mr Gilani in the evening. A host
of VVIPs were expected to watch the match at Mohali, including members of Congress
president Sonia Gandhi's family.
No comments:
Post a Comment