New Delhi
4 February 2010
Ending weeks of suspense, India unofficially indicated on Thursday that
reopening the door for dialogue with Pakistan was a distinct possibility. But no details
are yet available about dates or the contours of the talks should it commence.
Informed sources here hinted that India would host the renewed conversation in New
Delhi. Sources went so far as to suggest that Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir
had been invited.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomed the development.
"We have asked the High Commissioner in Delhi to get in touch with the Foreign Office to
discuss the format, the agenda and all the details. Once they are in front of us, we would
be in better position (to comment on the issue)," Mr Qureshi told a Pakistani TV channel.
A report in a section of the Pakistani media cited Abdul Basit, the Pakistan Foreign
Ministry spokesman, as saying that the Pakistani side was seeking clarification from
India about the agenda of the suggested talks.
"They have proposed foreign secretary-level talks and we have sought clarification on
the contents of the proposed talks. We are awaiting India's response," Mr Basit said.
A window for the foreign secretary-level talks could be any time between Home minister
P Chidambaram's visit to Pakistan for the SAARC home / interior ministers' meeting in
Rawalpindi on February 26 and 27 and the SAARC Summit to be held in Bhutan in April.
But it should come as no surprise if the foreign secretaries get together for a discussion
even before Mr Chidambaram's visit to Pakistan, if the two sides can come to an early
agreement on the sequencing of steps.
Sources here maintained that all issues would be on the table during the talks but the
discussions would essentially focus on counter-terrorism. This is what External affairs
minister SM Krishna told journalists here on Tuesday.
However, Mr Basit told Pakistan's Dawn newspaper that "no format of engagement other
than composite dialogue will be acceptable to us". His comments were explained away
by a knowledgeable source here, who maintained that the Pakistan spokesman's
comments preceded the new development.
Even unofficially, India is not making it clear whether the full range of issues it has in
mind amounts to "composite dialogue". The sources are only ready to say that India will
go in for the talks with an open mind. Counter-terrorism and any other issue that can
promote peace and stability will be open for discussion.
The cat and mouse game about the dates and agenda suggests that the choreography of
renewing negotiations is yet to be worked out by both sides although they appear to want
to begin reworking of ties after the Sharm-el-Sheikh episode in last July. It is likely that
both sides will have to come to an understanding about the format of the talks before
they can officially acknowledge that the first step in reversing the stalemate has been
taken. The part of the Sharm-el-Sheikh Joint Statement, which created an uproar in India,
said action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and
these should not be bracketed.
The composite dialogue is a structured process through which the two sides look at all
outstanding issues. It comprises the eight issues of peace and security including
confidence building measures; Jammu and Kashmir; Siachen; Sir Creek; Wullar Barrage
/ Tulbul navigation project; terrorism and drug trafficking; economic and commercial
cooperation; and promotion of friendly exchanges in various fields.
India and Pakistan have concluded four rounds of the composite dialogue, since its
inception in 1998. The fifth round was suspended after the Mumbai attacks.
The dialogue had been disrupted after Kargil in 1999. In December 2001 came the
Parliament attack. The process resumed only in January 2004 after President Pervez
Musharraf gave the categorical assurance that Pakistan territory will not be used for
terrorist strikes against India. This was the assurance India cited after the 26/11 attack.
The composite dialogue process was again jolted following the Mumbai train blasts in
2006. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Musharraf met in Cuba on the
margins of the NAM Summit held in September that year to recommence the structured
dialogue and also formally announce the creation of a joint anti-terror mechanism, which
never did really take off.
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