Thaindian News

By M.R. Narayan Swamy
Islamabad, July 15 (IANS) Serious differences over Jammu and Kashmir and Balochistan came to the fore here Thursday as India and Pakistan ended their first major bilateral dialogue after the Mumbai terror attack.

While Foreign Ministers S.M. Krishna of India and Shah Mahmood Qureshi of Pakistan began their joint media interaction after about seven hours of extended talks on a positive note, it became quickly clear that serious differences plagued their uneasy relationship.

By the time press conference ended in the foreign ministry, the venue of the discussions that began at 11 a.m. and ended late in the evening, the conciliatory comments gave away to shadow boxing on thorny issues including Jammu and Kashmir, Balochistan and how to deal with the Mumbai attack masterminds.

A Pakistani official said privately that the much awaited talks had deadlocked.

Both Krishna, whose three-day trip ends Friday, and Qureshi, who has been invited to visit India, admitted that they had free and frank talks - a diplomatic euphemism to mean they had differences.

But they vowed to renew their dialogue that was derailed by the 2008 attack on Mumbai by Pakistani terrorists that left 166 Indians and foreigners dead and sent bilateral relations plunging to an all-time low.

“We had a very frank, candid and honest discussion on where we stand (and) how do we move forward,” Qureshi told Indian and Pakistani journalists who had waited for the two ministers since afternoon.

Qureshi said while Pakistan would use the leads provided by India to bring to justice the masterminds of the Mumbai strike, India should also take up issues of “core importance” to Islamabad.

He said the two delegations discussed issues such as terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir - including the latest unrest in the Kashmir Valley - Sir Creek, Siachen and possible ways of engaging economically.

“This was a useful meeting, a useful engagement, and we have decided to continue it.” Qureshi added that Thursday could be described as the resumption of the composite dialogue process.

In his remarks, Krishna said the two countries were talking knowing well the complexities and challenges of their relationship that has seen three major wars since their independence in 1947.

He underlined it was vital for India that Pakistan should “pursue vigorously” the trial of the accused in the Mumbai attack “to unravel the conspiracy and bring all the perpetrators to justice”.

He added that this would be the biggest confidence-building measure.

While Krishna pointed out that the security measures taken in Jammu and Kashmir to meet the street protests since June were an internal matter of India, Qureshi said the allegations of human rights violations, imposition of curfew and killings of civilians in the Kashmir Valley were “issues of concern to everyone”.

On Balochistan, Krishna said Pakistan had not provided even a shred of evidence to prove that India was involved in insurgency in the sprawling province.

On his part, Qureshi sought to dispel the impressions of Pakistani journalists that he was soft on India vis-à-vis Balochistan.

The visiting minister spoke about the increased infiltration of militants from Pakistan into Indian Kashmir. Qureshi quickly intervened to say that the Pakistani government and intelligence agencies had nothing to do with the infiltration.

Qureshi also hit out at Indian Home Secretary G.K. Pillai for alleging on the eve of Krishna’s visit that Pakistan’s intelligence agency was involved in the Mumbai attack.

“Tell me, to what extent it helped (our dialogue)?” he asked. “It was uncalled for.”

Even as the discussions went on, Krishna went and called on Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Just before Krishna met him, Gilani held discussions with General Pervez Ashfaq Kayani, the Pakistani army chief and the country’s most powerful man who is determined to cut India to size in Afghanistan.

(M.R. Narayan Swamy can be contacted at narayan.swamy@ians.in)