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| No talks till Pak acts against terror: PM |
| Press Trust Of India / Sharm-El Sheikh (Egypt) Jul 17, 2009, 00:04 IST |
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The two sides agreed to ‘create an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence’.
 In an apparent climbdown, India today dropped its insistence on refusing to hold talks with Pakistan till those behind the Mumbai terror attacks were punished but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh clarified that the “composite dialogue” would not be resumed.
A joint statement issued after the second top-level meeting since the Mumbai terror attacks last year said: “Both prime ministers recognised that dialogue is the only way forward. Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.”
During the two-hour-long meeting, which virtually signalled a thaw in relations that had soured after the 26/11 attacks, the two sides agreed to “create an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence”.
There was no mention of Kashmir in the statement which, however, said that Singh expressed India’s readiness to “discuss all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues”.
Under the composite dialogue process, Kashmir is one of the issues. The delinking of composite dialogue with terrorism is seen as a climbdown by India as it has all along maintained that dialogue cannot be held till there is concrete action against terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
Later, addressing a press conference, Singh was at pains to clarify that “the composite dialogue process cannot resume unless and until terrorist acts, like the one which shook Mumbai, are properly accounted for and perpetrators of these heinous crimes are brought to book.”
“If acts of terrorism continue to be perpetrated, there is no question of dialogue, least of all, the composite dialogue... If there is no attempt (by Pakistan) to contain terrorism, no dialogue can succeed,” the PM added. He emphasised that “so long as Pakistan territory continues to be used for perpetrating acts of terrorism directed against India, I think, the dialogue, even if it starts, cannot move forward.”
Noting that there is no option but to have dialogue with Pakistan, he said, however, that he could not say what kind of talks would happen. This, he said, would be determined by the foreign secretaries of the two countries who will keep meeting as often as possible.
Singh said that any recurrence of Mumbai-type attack would be “intolerable” and that would affect the ties from moving forward. India has particularly been maintaining that the dialogue process cannot resume till Pakistan takes “concrete” and “visible” action against perpetrators of Mumbai attacks.
Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani told reporters after the meeting that his feeling was that India was “convinced” that the “way forward” was dialogue. He said he had told Singh that terrorism and Mumbai attacks should not be bracketed with dialogue and he agreed.
“All core issues that were pending under composite dialogue should be discussed... That should not be bracketed with this Mumbai incident,” the Pakistan prime minister said.
“They are satisfied with my commitment that whosoever was behind Mumbai attack will be brought to justice,” he said.
The statement said that Singh emphasised the need for action against perpetrators of Mumbai attacks and Gilani had promised to "do everything in its power" in this regard. During the talks, the two sides also decided to share "real-time, credible and actionable information on any future terror threats". Singh disagreed when pointed out that Pakistan's projection was that the composite dialogue will not be held hostage to terror incidents. "That's not my interpretation." Gilani said he had raised the issue of "terrorism" in Balochistan for which Pakistan accuses India. Asked about the mention of Balochistan in the joint statement for the first time, Singh quoted Gilani as having said that people in his country were saying that India was "active" in that province. Singh said he had told Gilani that if Pakistan has "evidence, we are ready to look at it. We are an open book. We are not afraid of discussing any of these issues."
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