New Delhi, July 17: The one-and-a-half hour meeting between prime minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani during the NAM summit at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt ended in a please-all joint statement. Its message is conveniently vague on detail, leaving ample room for both leaders to give a positive spin to their domestic constituencies.
Singh and Gilani both said that dialogue is the only way forward, a sentiment that will please the Americans and the international community, and be a welcome present for US secretary of state Hillary Clinton when she lands in India late on Friday.
What contradicts the government’s constant refrain since the Mumbai attacks is the decision to delink action on terrorism with the India-Pakistan peace talk process. This appears to be a huge concession to Pakistan and makes little sense — why then did India halt the composite dialogue after the Mumbai attacks?
Singh is likely to face flak back home for this sentence in the joint statement: “…action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.”
However, there is no mention at all of reviving the composite dialogue in its present form.
In fact, Singh said later at his news conference that there will be no talks unless Pakistan punishes those responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks. He also wanted a firm assurance from Gilani that there will be no repeat of Mumbai. “Another attack will affect talks of any kind,” he said.
Diplomats say that New Delhi wants the structure of the composite dialogue changed. So far the two sides have not yet agreed on the new format and this will be worked out eventually through the foreign secretaries. There is also hope that the intelligence agencies of both countries, ISI and RAW, will begin discussions at some time.
The PM, however, refused to comment on this when questioned.
Meanwhile, Gilani assured Singh that Pakistan will do everything in its power to punish the perpetrators of 26/11. Pakistan had provided an updated status dossier on the investigations of the Mumbai attacks and had sought additional information/evidence. Singh said that the dossier is being reviewed.
Singh and Gilani also instructed their respective top diplomats to meet as often as necessary and report back to the respective foreign ministers. The next big meeting between the two will be in New York in the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon would have retired by than and would be replaced by Nirupama Rao.
Gilani also garnered enough indicators to show for Pakistan’s gains in the talks. While Kashmir was not mentioned in the joint statement, Singh said that India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues. This can be sold by Gilani to his people as a reference to Kashmir.
The Pakistan army will also be happy with Gilani for bringing in the issue of Balochistan, since they say that Indian consulates in Afghanistan are involved in stirring trouble there.
When asked about this, Singh said that India’s work in Afghanistan is an open book and he had no problem mentioning it in the joint statement. It was, however, not an admission of guilt in any way.
“Both leaders agreed that the two countries will share real time, credible and actionable information on any future terrorist threats. Prime minister Gilani mentioned that Pakistan has some information on threats in Balochistan and other areas,” the joint statement said.
–Agencies