New Delhi
18 May 2008
India is ready to move forward the peace process with Pakistan in
the hope it will contribute meaningfully to the improvement of the bilateral relationship,
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said.
Mr Menon, who will hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart in Islamabad on Tuesday,
has said India will be ready to discuss all issues including Jammu and Kashmir. India
will look forward to building a cooperative relationship in an atmosphere free from
violence, he added.
Mr Menon will review the fourth round of the Composite Dialogue process with Mr
Salman Bashir, who recently was appointed foreign secretary in succession to Mr Riaz
Mohammad Khan. The two foreign secretaries are mandated to discuss two issues --
peace and security, and Jammu and Kashmir -- out of eight subjects of the Composite
Dialogue process.
The foreign secretary-level talks will be followed by a meeting of the foreign ministers
from India and Pakistan on Wednesday, for which Minister of External Affairs Pranab
Mukherjee will travel to Islamabad. The two ministers will discuss the modalities of
commencing the next round of the Composite Dialogue process.
Besides holding talks with his Pakistani counterpart Mr Makhdoom Shah Mahmood
Qureshi, Mr Mukherjee will call on Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Prime
Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani. Mr Mukherjee is also expected to meet with People's Party
Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader and former prime
minister Nawaz Sharif.
The significance of the May 21 talks between the two ministers is in the resumption of
formal high-level political contact between the two countries after the recently concluded
election in Pakistan, which saw the formation of a democratically elected government
there.
For its part, New Delhi is ready to "pick up the thread" and it will wait to see how
Pakistan responds. Both sides have made considerable progress towards normalising
their bilateral ties although irritants persist in the form of visa restrictions, and
Pakistan's reluctance to accord India the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status or give
India transit rights.
New Delhi is certain it will raise all issues including terrorism, which will be a major
issue of the talks. "We think terrorism is a common concern and Pakistan should see
terrorism as a threat to itself too," a source said, referring the assassination of former
Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto. "Pakistan is expected to live up to its words and
it has to be seen to be stopping terrorism," the source added.
New Delhi will also be keen to learn what the Government of Pakistan has to say on the
issue of Jammu and Kashmir. If the prevailing sentiment in South Block here is any
indicator, New Delhi will go in for the talks with an open mind and focus not so much on
the specifics as on broader political engagement that will shape the bilateral ties in the
future.
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