New Delhi
25 February 2010
The marathon three-hour-long talks between the foreign secretaries of India and
Pakistan here on Thursday was described as cordial but Mr Salman Bashir's press
conference degenerated into rhetoric, putting a question mark on Islamabad's sincerity.
His attempts at grandstanding and scoring brownie points was met with a terse rejoinder
from New Delhi, which promptly responded by saying that while it was of the firm
conviction that it must not shut the door on dialogue, it was not desperate either to
continue talks.
The provocation came after Mr Bashir in his separate interaction with the media said the
dossiers given by India so far, detailing the role of Jamaat-ud-Dawa'h chief Hafiz Saeed
and others responsible for the Mumbai attacks, were more like "literature" than
"evidence in the legal sense".
He also noted that Pakistan did not like to be lectured or sermoned on terrorism as it was
a victim in its own right.
From his responses to the questions in the press conference, it was evident that
Pakistan was in no hurry to give India any satisfaction on the issue of matters related to
the Mumbai attacks.
Mr Bashir advised India not to spend all its energies discussing only the Mumbai
attacks or individuals such as Hafiz Saeed. He noted that Pakistan could in the same
way bring up similar issues about India's activities in Afghanistan.
Seeking to refute Mr Bashir's suggestion that Pakistan had photographic evidence that
India was instigating terrorist activities against Pakistan from Afghanistan, sources here
said that his statement was propagandist in nature as "not a shred of evidence" was
shared with India.
Sources clarified that India did not believe in interfering in any country's internal affairs
or in destabilising Pakistan.
Such was the acrimony between the two sides towards the end of what was described as
useful talks that New Delhi went as far as to note that while its delegation got its brief for
the talks from a democratic government, Mr Bashir and his entourage were following
instructions from "GHQ" or Pakistan Army headquarters.
Earlier in the day, in her briefing to the media, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao
maintained that the time is not ripe for the resumption of the composite dialogue
process.
She said three new dossiers were given to the Pakistan side, one of which highlights the
role of a serving Pakistani Army officer in the Mumbai attacks.
India also strongly brought up the case of Pakistan not dealing with Hafiz Saeed under
its own domestic anti-terror laws and that this is a matter of serious concern for New
Delhi.
"In line with our graduated and step by step approach, our aims were modest; we had a
useful discussion, during which I spelt out forthrightly our concerns on terrorism
emanating from Pakistan against India," Ms Rao said.
Sources said a substantial portion of the talks was devoted to the issue of terrorism.
India also raised the issues of infiltration and ceasefire violations across the Line of
Control in Jammu and Kashmir and also the international border.
For its part, the Pakistan delegation raised the issues of Kashmir, Balochistan and the
sharing of river waters. Pakistan sought the resumption of the composite dialogue
process, with Mr Bashir saying that his country did not believe in "cosmetic"
engagement with India.
He also asked India not to be "dismissive" of Kashmir, maintaining that "Pakistan will
continue to support politically, diplomatically and morally the struggle of Kashmiri
people."
The foreign secretaries have agreed to remain in touch but the future trajectory of
bilateral dialogue, especially the possibility of meetings between their leaders, remains
mired in uncertainty.
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