The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan on Monday spoke in one voice on the outcome of their 90-minute late Sunday night meeting and avoided trading charges on issues of friction.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao counselled patience to allow the dialogue process to mature and described the interaction as useful and satisfactory. Her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir, avoided saying “anything negative” on any issue, including the Samjhauta Express blasts, Hindu terror groups and Kashmir “at this point.” The talks were in consonance with the spirit of the Thimphu thaw that took place following a meeting between the two Prime Ministers here last April, he added.
Mr. Bashir felt it was unfair to affix a religious appendage to groups indulging in acts of terrorism. “It is wrong to connote terrorism with any denomination, whether it is Hindu or anything. That is not fair. We have got to have clarity when we define these issues.”
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Speaking to the media a day after Foreign Secretary-level talks, the first ice breaker between India and Pakistan this year, Ms. Rao did not want to disclose further details “at the moment.” Mr. Bashir also avoided doing so because the “important thing is to have a clear vision of the way we want to proceed together.”
“I think it would not be in order to do that… as they say, in life as in diplomacy, ripeness is all. We have to wait for this process to mature,” said Ms. Rao explaining the rectitude among both sides to release further details about the meeting. “All in all, I think it was a very useful meeting. Both of us adopted an open and constructive attitude and I am satisfied with the meeting,” she observed.
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Mr. Bashir sought to put the Foreign Secretary-level dialogue in perspective. When the two Prime Ministers met in Thimphu last year, three things were agreed upon. One, there should be frequent contacts and both sides have had frequent contacts. Second, they should try to bridge the trust divide. “I think we have, to a considerable extent, succeeded in doing that.” Three, everything should be discussed and “that is the format that we are pursuing.”
“I think there is consensus at the leadership level that that's the practical way forward. We will be reporting respectively to our governments concerned and then take it from there,” he said.
Cautious optimism
On the question of what next, Ms. Rao reiterated the standard Foreign Office line of cautious optimism because there were many issues that needed to be resolved. “As the nature of the relationship has been very complex, we have to be aware of the realities. But we should have a vision for the future and that is what our Prime Minister feels. And I believe from what Mr. Bashir told me, their government is also committed to taking the dialogue with India on all outstanding issues forward in a constructive way.”
Asked to comment on the Samjhauta Express blasts issue, Mr. Bashir avoided singling out this extremist act and described every act of terrorism as a common issue. “Every incident of terrorism is despicable. We condemn it whether it takes place in India, Pakistan or elsewhere.” He declined to comment on the Hafiz Saeed issue because “at this point of time I think what is important is that we all cooperate along with the international community to deal with issues which are of concern to you, which are of equal concern to us.”
Kashmir issue
On Kashmir, he expressed the hope that the “central issue” would be resolved in accordance with the aspirations of the people of the State. “We want it to be resolved and Pakistan of course has expressed on the solidarity day [on Sunday] its moral and political support.”