14 months after 26/11, India, Pakistan begin talks

[Bhushan]

14 months after 26/11, India, Pakistan begin talks

NEW DELHI: The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan on Thursday began official talks here, the first formal engagement since the Mumbai terror attacks 14 months ago.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao greeted her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir at Hyderabad House as the two top officials along with their delegations sat down for talks, aimed at breaking the deadlock in bilateral ties.

"We look forward to our talks," Rao told reporters outside Hyderabad House.

"Hyderabad House is a familiar venue. We look forward to a very, good constructive arrangement," a smiling Bashir added before going inside for the talks.

Besides Rao, the Indian team included India's High Commissioner to Islamabad Sharat Sabharwal, joint secretary in charge of Pakistan Y.K. Sinha, ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vishnu Prakash and other officials of the MEA.

The Pakistani delegation comprised Afrasiab, director-general of the South Asia division and a former deputy high commissioner to India, Pakistan's High Commissioner Shahid Malik, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit and other senior officials.

The delegation-level talks are expected to last for at least two hours.

Rao will host a lunch for the Pakistani delegation.

The two sides have made it clear that although they have their differing core concerns, they are going into these crucial talks with "an open mind".

For India, the core concern is terrorism and the alleged use of Pakistani territory by anti-India terror outfits, but it is willing to discuss other issues. Pakistan has made it clear that it will focus on the Kashmir dispute and other issues like sharing of river waters.

The Pakistani delegation will also call on National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, a former foreign secretary and a former Indian envoy to Islamabad, on Thursday evening. On Friday morning, the Pakistanis will call on External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna before heading back to Islamabad.

The outcome of the talks is expected to determine the future trajectory of engagement between the two neighbours.

Indian and Pakistani leaders met at Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt last year. But this is the first structured dialogue since the Mumbai attack in November 2008 that put the brakes on the composite dialogue between the two countries.

 

[Bhushan]

Indo-Pak talks focussed on Kashmir: Pak foreign secy

NEW DELHI: Pakistan foreign secretary Salman Bashir has said that the Indo-Pak talks focused on Kashmir. Hours after Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and Bashir held parleys, the latter said in a press conference that Pakistan wanted good ties with India and that India’s concerns on terror were valid.

“It is unrealistic to link 26/11 to talks...,” Bashir said.

 

[Bhushan]

'Indian networks' behind terror attacks in India: Pak

LAHORE: As Indo-Pak foreign secretaries met in Delhi for talks aimed at ending the chill in bilateral ties, Pakistan today claimed "Indian networks" were behind the terror attacks in Mumbai and on the Samjhauta Express and Indian Parliament.

Without giving any evidence to substantiate the claims, interior minister Rehman Malik said a terrorist assault of the magnitude of the Mumbai attacks could not have been carried out without the backing of an "Indian network."

"I had said very openly during a press conference that such a major terrorist incident like the Mumbai attacks could not have happened without the involvement of an Indian network," he told reporters after appearing in the Lahore High Court in connection with the hearing of a case.

"There was (an Indian) network when the Samjhauta Express was (attacked in 2007)... There was also (an Indian) network involved in the attack on Indian Parliament (in 2001)," Malik said.

"These are three networks that have been identified as existing in India," he claimed without giving further details.

Malik referred to comments by home minister P Chidambaram about Abu Jindal, a suspected Indian handler of the Mumbai attacks, to back his contention about the involvement of an "Indian network" in the incident.

"Time proved me right when Chidambaram said that Abu Jindal was involved. That means there is a network," he said.

However, Chidambaram had only said that Indian authorities suspected Abu Jindal was an Indian.

 

[Bhushan]

Talks with Pak constructive; 26/11, Pune blasts discussed: India

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday handed over three dossiers to Pakistan during the talks between Indo-Pak foreign secretaries Nirupama Rao and Salman Bashir.

"Pakistan was handed over three dossiers -- one on involvement of certain individuals in 26/11 attacks, second on threats issued by terrorist Illyas Kashmiri and the third on fugitives from Indian law in Pakistan" Rao said.

"We agreed to remain in touch," said Rao after talks with her Pakistani counterpart.

"We told Pakistan that trust and confidence should be restored. We also expressed concern on the issue of terrorism during talks with Bashir," Nirupama Rao added.

Rao said, "It is duty of Pakistan to dismantle terror infrastructure targeted against India."

She said that Pakistan raised issue of India's involvement in Baluchistan but gave no evidence.

 

[pak-marine]

useless talks we have witnessed this drama many times doesnt produce any results . They Indo/Pak just do it for the sake of it.