Thaindian News

Islamabad, July 5 (IANS) The talks between the Pakistani and Indian foreign secretaries seem to have done a lot of good for South Asia, a leading daily said Tuesday.

An editorial in the Dawn said that “one can clearly see a softening of the Indian position” following the talks between Salman Bashir and Nirupama Rao here last month.

Bashir and Rao met in Islambad June 23-24.

The foreign secretaries discussed a range of issues relating to peace and security, Jammu and Kashmir and promotion of friendly exchanges.

Both countries vowed to carry forward the dialogue — suspended after the November 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai — in “a constructive and purposeful manner”.

The outgoing Indian foreign secretary has said that a change in Pakistan’s attitude constituted a concrete development.

“More significantly, her reply…seemed to admit that it was a mistake not to talk to Pakistan after the Mumbai tragedy…What mattered, she explained, was that the `prism’ through which Islamabad looked at safe havens, non-state elements and terrorism financing had changed, and that talks against this background could help reduce the trust deficit between the two countries,” the editorial noted in a reference to Rao’s interview to the CNN-IBN TV news channel.

Rao’s views are “indicative of a consensus that appears to have developed in the Indian establishment to push the peace process forward”, the editorial added.

Adding a note of caution, it said that Pakistan does, however, have to be mindful of India’s concerns about the Mumbai trial.

Rao said it had “not moved an inch” and that India wanted to see “concrete results”.

“Despite this, by all indications the Thimphu spirit seems to be alive. Notwithstanding the recent failures on Siachen and Sir Creek, things have been moving forward.”

Noting that the “composite dialogue had fallen victim to Mumbai”, the editorial said that “with the current perceptible change in New Delhi’s attitude, one can at least look forward to agreements on less contentious issues”.