Focus on terror, but India ready for broader parleys

NEW DELHI: India is going into the Indo-Pak foreign secretary talks with an `` open mind’’ and is prepared to discuss all contentious issues with Pakistan.

Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir will discuss a whole host of issues ranging from trade to confidence building measures but terrorism remains the focal point for India. “The responses (from Pakistan) will help us make a definitive assessment of how we will take concrete steps... if the signals are positive on dealing with terrorism,’’ official sources said. “Our concerns over terrorism are very real and have not diminished ,” the sources added.

The issue of terrorism will come into sharp focus when home minister P Chidambaram’s meets Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik immediately after the foreign secretary level engagement . The cabinet committee on security met on Sunday to discuss the outlines and mandate for the home minister’s visit. Sources said Mr Chidambaram — who is traveling to Islamabad on June 25 for the SAARC home ministers’ meeting — will raise Indian concerns on terror and ask Pakistan to act against anti-India terror groups and curb infiltration. Sources added that the home minister will also emphasise the importance of speeding up the Mumbai trials in Pakistan and focus on all aspects related to the Mumbai terror attacks, including action against Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed.
Ms Rao will also take up the issue of terrorism during her interaction with Mr Bashir. Sources said that the foreign secretary will emphasise the need for Pakistan to ensure fast progress of Mumbai trial. Sources pointed out it was Pakistan’s responsibility to ensure that there are no attacks against Indian nationals, Indian interests and India.

The foreign secretary level talks, which are essentially to pave the way for the meeting of the foreign ministers next month, will also go into issues like people-to-people contact, humanitarian issues and trade across the LoC in Kashmir and issue like smuggling of fake currency and narcotics . India is likely to propose CBMs like increasing cross-LoC trade. `` We realise that if normalisation of ties is to be achieved, we will have to discuss all issues with Pakistan,’’ sources said.

India is also keen to build on the progress made earlier through the composite dialogue and back channel diplomacy between 2004 and 2007. `If there is a clear signal from the Pakistani government that they want to build on that... it would be a trust building exercise.

India will try to see how it could go about bridging “trust-deficit” and the first set of Indo-Pak meeting will give India a good idea of how things will shape up. Ms Rao will leave for Islamabad with home secretary G K Pillai who will participate in the meetings of senior officials of the SAARC countries.