External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna has said he expects a productive meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi when he visits India, most probably by March.
He was addressing a press conference here on Friday.
Asked whether matters had to be worked out from the scratch given that the press conference after their previous meeting in Islamabad in June last ended in acrimony, Mr. Krishna said the interaction was preceded by a number of meetings between the Foreign Secretaries. “Before Foreign Minister Qureshi comes to India, I am sure that it is in the fitness of things that the two Foreign Secretaries meet and clear the ground for a very productive meeting at the level of Foreign Ministers.”
Asked about the agenda, he said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was “very, very clear” that India would like to engage Pakistan in a dialogue. “There is no other alternative than talking to Pakistan, keeping them engaged, and thereby sorting out the outstanding issues. When I was in Islamabad [in June last year], there were a number of issues about which there was a similarity of thinking. I am sure that that process will continue as and when Foreign Minister Qureshi comes to India.”
Mr. Krishna said the indication given by Mr. Qureshi was that he would visit Delhi in the first quarter of this year. “And we are looking forward to it.”
In his opening statement, Mr. Krishna, quoting Dr. Singh, said India was ready to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue. At the same time, it expected Pakistan to fulfil its “repeated assurances given to us at the highest level” that it would not allow its territory to be used for fomenting terrorism aimed against India, and would expeditiously bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice. “I have extended an invitation to my counterpart to visit India and earnestly hope that we can take the process of dialogue forward,” he said.
Mr. Krishna denied that the agreement on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline meant that it was curtains for the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline. “The negotiations are going on; the talks are going on; and it is in the initial process. I think we will proceed.”
As for his meetings with United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) leader Baburam Bhattarai and Nepal Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala, he said India wanted a broad consensus on a political process in Nepal to frame a new constitution. “India is certainly keeping close contact with Nepal because of our civilisational and historical ties with that country. We wish them well,” he said.
Asked about conjectures that he might leave the Foreign Ministry to take on “bigger challenges,” Mr. Krishna said it was the media's “exclusive prerogative” to speculate. “We keep reading it; we keep watching it, and then take things as they come along. Ultimately, I think it is the Prime Minister's prerogative. As a Constitutional Law student, as one who was teaching Constitutional Law, I am sure I know it.”
