India, Pakistan discuss dates for talks, US welcomes move (Lead IntroRoundup)

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON - India and Pakistan Friday discussed the dates for talks between their foreign secretaries and the scope of their dialogue that could include other issues besides terrorism.

“The discussions between Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao lasted for 45 minutes,” said external affairs ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash in New Delhi.

“The talks were positive and constructive, both sides discussed issues relevant to the forthcoming foreign secretary level talks,” Prakash told reporters.

“The Pakistani side is expected to get back to us about a mutually convenient date. They will revert soon,” he said.

The talks could be broad-based and include terrorism, said sources.

India’s offer of foreign secretary-level talks has predictably raised hopes in Islamabad about a revival of the composite dialogue, with its top leadership discussing the Indian proposal. The US, too, welcomed the move, but a cautious New Delhi feels that it is premature to judge the outcome of the talks.

Rao had rang up her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir ten days ago to invite him to come to New Delhi for talks, sources said.

This will be the first meeting between the two foreign secretaries since they met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September last year.

Rao and Malik also discussed the scope of dialogue with India making it clear it will hold “discussions with an open and positive mind.” The Pakistani side is pitching to include the issue of Kashmir in the forthcoming talks, but New Delhi wants to focus the discussions on terror at this stage.

India had frozen the composite dialogue in the wake of the attacks that it blamed on elements operating from Pakistan.

It’s the first step to test the waters, the sources said. Any decision on resuming the composite dialogue will be taken by Prime Minister Manmohan Signh himself, the sources added.

Much will also depend on Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s meetings with Pakistani leaders when he goes to attend the SAARC meting in Islamabad, which was scheduled for Feb 26-28 but has now been postponed by two days.

A positive assessment by India after the talks between foreign secretaries could set the stage for the meetings between their foreign ministers and prime ministers on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in Thimpu April 28-29.

A day after it became public that India had taken a major step by proposing talks between the foreign secretaries, Pakistan Friday termed it a “positive development” and hoped that it will lead to the full resumption of the composite dialogue. Islamabad also sought clarifications on the agenda for discussions and reiterated that terrorism could not alone be the topic for the talks.

“Overall, it is a positive development and we welcome it,” Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit told a private TV channel.

After the Indian proposal, Pakistan sought a clarification about the agenda and a reply is awaited, Basit said. As soon as India responds to this step, further progress would take place, he added.

Hours after the news broke about India’s offer, Pakistan’s top leadership met in Islamabad Thursday evening to discuss its position.

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani were present at the staggered meetings.

Zardari and Kayani first held a one-on-one meeting and Gilani joined them later. Zardari subsequently hosted a dinner that Qureshi also attended.

Qureshi told TV channels that depending on the response to Pakistan’s queries from India, Islamabad would like an early resumption of talks.

“We would like to restart from where we left off,” he said, referring to the freezing of the composite dialogue process.

Speaking at a meeting in connection with the Kashmir Solidary Day, Yusuf Raza Gilani reiterated that Pakistan will continue supporting Kashmiri “brothers” and stressed that meaningful dialogue with India was a “necessity” to resolve the dispute.

“Pakistan has always emphasized the necessity of a meaningful dialogue to resolve the Kashmir dispute,” he said.

He said “the Kashmir dispute is the root cause of tension in South Asia”.

Pakistan has admitted that part of the Mumbai conspiracy was hatched in this country. The trial is also underway here of six operatives of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) for their alleged role in the attack, which India says was masterminded by the terror group’s founder, Hafiz Saeed.

The new sign of thaw between the two estranged neighbours was quickly welcomed by Washington, which has always batted for the resumption of dialogue as it feels it will allow the Pakistani military to concentrate on the war against the Taliban.

“We are supportive of dialogue among India, Pakistan and Afghanistan as a key component of moving ahead and achieving a stable region,” State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley told reporters in Washington Thursday.