KV Prasad

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 11

Future progress on the India-Pakistan engagement especially in regard to terror will be driven by outcome on the issues New Delhi flagged during the first formal talks between the National Security Advisers.The Bangkok meeting between NSA Ajit Doval and his Pakistan counterpart Lt Gen Naseer Khan Janjua (retd) last Sunday is part of a well thought out and crafted strategy based on two foundations — continue response in a strong measure to any provocative acts on the border and engage in discussions across the table on all issues, senior government officials privy to discussions told The Tribune here.The Modi government is clear the resumption of talks with Pakistan was to convey New Delhi’s preparedness to hold talks with authorities in Islamabad that takes forward the spirit of Ufa where terrorism was put high on agenda while moving towards discussion on outstanding issues.There is a clear demarcation in the nature of engagement, one that takes forward the issue of terrorism that India wants Pakistan to address, including progress in trial against perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and the bilateral dialogue whose nomenclature stood changed from Resumed Dialogue to Comprehensive Dialogue.The future of the engagement (on terror) will be “outcome-driven”, officials who are part of the formulation said adding unlike the past when the talk about terror would be explained away as result of problems on account developments in Jammu and Kashmir and its fallout, there was greater receptivity from the other side.Devoting a good part of the four-hour NSA-level talks to terror, India put on the table evidence it accumulated in cases. While giving the benefit of the doubt to Islamabad in a few instances, India managed to convey its concerns backed by firm and watertight evidence, they said.The Foreign Secretaries of both countries are to meet next month to work out the modalities of the comprehensive dialogue and the level of interaction in various working groups, the modalities and scheduled of the meetings.
India, Pak Foreign Secys to meet in Jan
Joint statement largely welcomed in Pakistan
The decision to hold India-Pakistan comprehensive dialogue has been largely welcomed by the media and analysts, though certain politicians and ex-diplomats believe the joint statement issued after Sushma Swaraj’s meetings in Islamabad tilted towards India
Opposition in the National Assembly, especially Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrike Insaf and Jamit Ulema Islam’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman, demanded that PM Nawaz Sharif should brief the House on what transpired during talks with the Indian delegation
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said: “I firmly believe that we have no option, neither first nor last, but peace. Any other course would be disastrous for one-and-a-half billion people in the sub-continent.” —Afzal Khan in Islamabad
The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet next month to work out the details of the newly announced “comprehensive bilateral dialogue” and also to decide the level of interactions among various working groups.
Announcing this in the Pakistan National Assembly today, Sartaj Aziz, Adviser on Foreign Affairs to the Pakistan PM, said the National Security Advisers (NSAs) of the two countries would discuss terrorism as part of this comprehensive dialogue.
The talks are expected to be held in New Delhi. In March, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar had travelled to Islamabad and met his Pakistan counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry. But Jaishankar’s visit was part of the PM’s SAARC ‘yatra’ rather than a formal and structured Foreign Secretary-level talks.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is yet to make a statement in this regard in Parliament due to continuous disruptions.
Aziz briefed the Pakistan Assembly about the recently concluded Heart of Asia conference and “the latest developments in relations between Pakistan and India, including the joint statement issued after he met Sushma.
Aziz said all issues, including Kashmir, would be part of the peace talks under the agreed formula for the fresh re-engagement with India. “During the bilateral meeting, it was decided that the two Foreign Secretaries will meet next month to work out the details of the comprehensive bilateral dialogue and the level of interaction among various working groups. The Foreign Secretaries will also decide the modalities and schedule of the meetings under the dialogue,” Aziz said.
He said: “It was also decided that terrorism would be discussed by the two NSAs as part of this comprehensive bilateral dialogue. We had emphasised that Pakistan is a victim of terrorism.” Aziz outlined the process leading from the Paris handshake between the Prime Ministers of the two countries to the NSAs meeting in Bangkok to the recent visit of Swaraj. Aziz said that in Bangkok, both delegations were guided by the vision of the two leaders for a peaceful, stable and prosperous South Asia.
On Swaraj’s visit to Pakistan and the consequent announcement of the resumption of a comprehensive dialogue between the two countries, Aziz said: “Following the successful meeting of the NSAs, the Indian External Affairs Minister visited Pakistan to attend the 5th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process. She called on PM Nawaz Sharif and held bilateral talks in the Foreign Office. It was decided to continue the constructive engagement between Pakistan and India. As announced in the joint statement, the two sides agreed to a comprehensive bilateral dialogue, which includes all subjects of the composite dialogue, with some additions.”
Joint statement largely welcomed in Pakistan
The decision to hold India-Pakistan comprehensive dialogue has been largely welcomed by the media and analysts, though certain politicians and ex-diplomats believe the joint statement issued after Sushma Swaraj’s meetings in Islamabad tilted towards India
Opposition in the National Assembly, especially Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrike Insaf and Jamit Ulema Islam’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman, demanded that PM Nawaz Sharif should brief the House on what transpired during talks with the Indian delegation
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said: “I firmly believe that we have no option, neither first nor last, but peace. Any other course would be disastrous for one-and-a-half billion people in the sub-continent.” —Afzal Khan in Islamabad