Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao stood together in Islamabad at the end of their two-day talks on 24 June to announce that they had ‘very productive and constructive engagement’ for the resolution of outstanding issues through peaceful, sustained and serious bilateral dialogue.
The joint statement issued by the two foreign secretaries following their talks could be seen as a sign of the positive outcome of the talks as both sides used to issue a brief statement at the conclusion of the past bilateral talks. But this time the two sides not only issued a detailed joint statement but also replied to questions in a rare show of understanding.
Composite Dialogue
India had suspended the composite dialogue with Pakistan in the wake of the Mumbai attacks by blaming the Pakistan-based group Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) as a culprit behind the attacks. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, who had met on the sidelines of a regional summit in Bhutan in April 2010, had agreed to revive the official talks and had assigned the foreign secretaries to explore ways to bridge the trust deficit.
India had earlier regularly rebuffed Pakistani calls to resume a substantive dialogue, saying Islamabad has not done enough to tackle militants or bring the Mumbai attack organizers to justice. Pakistan admitted that the attacks were partly planned on its soil, but it denied any official involvement and has arrested several suspects including a leader of the LeT operations chief Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi.
The Pakistani and Indian foreign secretaries originally planned to hold separate press briefings after the talks, but they changed the schedule at the last minute by holding a joint press conference as both sides felt satisfied over the talk results and a need to share something with the media.
Peace and Security Issue
During the talks, India and Pakistan discussed peace and security, including confidence building measures, the Kashmir dispute and promotion of friendly exchanges. Both sides agreed on the resolution of outstanding issues through peaceful, sustained and serious bilateral dialogue. The shadow of the gun and the violence it has unleashed has caused untold sufferings for our people in these years past. This needs to end. The ideology of military conflict should have no place in the paradigm of our relationship in the 21st Century,’ the Indian Secretary for External Affairs Nirupama Rao told reporters, throwing the ball in the Pakistani court to come up with a similar approach.
Rao said: ‘Indeed, this relationship should be characterized by the vocabulary of peace; on ground cooperation in the interest of our peoples, growing trade and economic interaction as well as people to people contacts, and on this let me emphasize, in an atmosphere free of terror and violence.’
Ahead of the talks, India had asked for discussion on terrorism and the Mumbai trial in the Islamabad's talks and the Pakistani side was positive to address to the issues although it was not the subject for the talks of the foreign secretaries. Sources close to the talks said the Indian side raised the Mumbai trial in Pakistan, the alleged training camps of the Kashmiri militants and infiltration into the Indian-controlled Kashmir.
On terrorism, Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said the issue of terrorism requires objectivity; requires to be addressed in a collaborative approach. ‘Terrorism poses a threat to the two countries and to civilized societies. It must be eliminated,’ Bashir said at the joint press conference and added that terrorism and other related issues were discussed.
Confidence Building Measures
The foreign secretaries of the two countries will meet again in New Delhi on a date to be decided through diplomatic channels to prepare for the meeting of the foreign ministers of the two sides in New Delhi in July 2011. More meetings are planned ahead of the foreign ministers' talks. Both Foreign Secretaries agreed to convene a meeting of the Working Group on Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) on the Cross Line of Control (LoC), which divides the two countries in the disputed Kashmir region. The Group will recommend measures for strengthening and streamlining the existing trade and travel arrangements across the LoC and propose modalities for introducing additional Cross-LoC CBMs.
The two countries also agreed to the need for promoting friendly exchanges between the two countries. Both sides made progress towards finalization of the Visa Agreement which will help liberalize the visa regime and facilitate people-to-people, business-to-business and sports contacts. The two sides also discussed measures for promoting cooperation in various fields including facilitating visits to religious shrines, media exchanges, holding of sports tournaments and cessation of hostile propaganda against each other.
International Community’s Role
Keeping in view the fruitful foreign secretary talks to bridge the trust gap, the foreign ministers would be in a good position to make some announcements to bring the two nuclear-armed rivals closer and to achieve the goal of peace, security and development in the South Asian region.
The international community, especially regional countries, also encourage the arch-rival Pakistan and India to end their conflict and find out solution through negotiation. It is now widely believed that the situation in Pakistan has encouraged policymakers to act to counter the threat of terrorism which has already claimed lives of 35,000 people including 5,000 security personnel since 2001. Pakistan has also suffered a loss of nearly $60 billion in the same mentioned period and it is a best opportunity for Pakistan to positively respond to the Indian quest for end to armed conflict.
The joint statement issued by the two foreign secretaries following their talks could be seen as a sign of the positive outcome of the talks as both sides used to issue a brief statement at the conclusion of the past bilateral talks. But this time the two sides not only issued a detailed joint statement but also replied to questions in a rare show of understanding.
Composite Dialogue
India had suspended the composite dialogue with Pakistan in the wake of the Mumbai attacks by blaming the Pakistan-based group Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) as a culprit behind the attacks. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, who had met on the sidelines of a regional summit in Bhutan in April 2010, had agreed to revive the official talks and had assigned the foreign secretaries to explore ways to bridge the trust deficit.
India had earlier regularly rebuffed Pakistani calls to resume a substantive dialogue, saying Islamabad has not done enough to tackle militants or bring the Mumbai attack organizers to justice. Pakistan admitted that the attacks were partly planned on its soil, but it denied any official involvement and has arrested several suspects including a leader of the LeT operations chief Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi.
The Pakistani and Indian foreign secretaries originally planned to hold separate press briefings after the talks, but they changed the schedule at the last minute by holding a joint press conference as both sides felt satisfied over the talk results and a need to share something with the media.
Peace and Security Issue
During the talks, India and Pakistan discussed peace and security, including confidence building measures, the Kashmir dispute and promotion of friendly exchanges. Both sides agreed on the resolution of outstanding issues through peaceful, sustained and serious bilateral dialogue. The shadow of the gun and the violence it has unleashed has caused untold sufferings for our people in these years past. This needs to end. The ideology of military conflict should have no place in the paradigm of our relationship in the 21st Century,’ the Indian Secretary for External Affairs Nirupama Rao told reporters, throwing the ball in the Pakistani court to come up with a similar approach.
Rao said: ‘Indeed, this relationship should be characterized by the vocabulary of peace; on ground cooperation in the interest of our peoples, growing trade and economic interaction as well as people to people contacts, and on this let me emphasize, in an atmosphere free of terror and violence.’
Ahead of the talks, India had asked for discussion on terrorism and the Mumbai trial in the Islamabad's talks and the Pakistani side was positive to address to the issues although it was not the subject for the talks of the foreign secretaries. Sources close to the talks said the Indian side raised the Mumbai trial in Pakistan, the alleged training camps of the Kashmiri militants and infiltration into the Indian-controlled Kashmir.
On terrorism, Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said the issue of terrorism requires objectivity; requires to be addressed in a collaborative approach. ‘Terrorism poses a threat to the two countries and to civilized societies. It must be eliminated,’ Bashir said at the joint press conference and added that terrorism and other related issues were discussed.
Confidence Building Measures
The foreign secretaries of the two countries will meet again in New Delhi on a date to be decided through diplomatic channels to prepare for the meeting of the foreign ministers of the two sides in New Delhi in July 2011. More meetings are planned ahead of the foreign ministers' talks. Both Foreign Secretaries agreed to convene a meeting of the Working Group on Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) on the Cross Line of Control (LoC), which divides the two countries in the disputed Kashmir region. The Group will recommend measures for strengthening and streamlining the existing trade and travel arrangements across the LoC and propose modalities for introducing additional Cross-LoC CBMs.
The two countries also agreed to the need for promoting friendly exchanges between the two countries. Both sides made progress towards finalization of the Visa Agreement which will help liberalize the visa regime and facilitate people-to-people, business-to-business and sports contacts. The two sides also discussed measures for promoting cooperation in various fields including facilitating visits to religious shrines, media exchanges, holding of sports tournaments and cessation of hostile propaganda against each other.
International Community’s Role
Keeping in view the fruitful foreign secretary talks to bridge the trust gap, the foreign ministers would be in a good position to make some announcements to bring the two nuclear-armed rivals closer and to achieve the goal of peace, security and development in the South Asian region.
The international community, especially regional countries, also encourage the arch-rival Pakistan and India to end their conflict and find out solution through negotiation. It is now widely believed that the situation in Pakistan has encouraged policymakers to act to counter the threat of terrorism which has already claimed lives of 35,000 people including 5,000 security personnel since 2001. Pakistan has also suffered a loss of nearly $60 billion in the same mentioned period and it is a best opportunity for Pakistan to positively respond to the Indian quest for end to armed conflict.
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