Further Acrimony After Indo-Pak Talks Ends In Stalemate

M.today

Islamabad, July 16: Indo-Pak dialogue on Friday  descended into acrimony with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi accusing India of being "selective" in its approach, a suggestion rejected by his counterpart S M Krishna. 

A day after their parleys ended amidst sharp differences on key issues, the two Foreign Ministers addressed their home audiences, Qureshi in Islamabad and Krishna immediately after landing in Delhi to give their versions of what transpired. 

Qureshi, speaking to Pakistani journalists while Krishna was still in Islamabad, put aside diplomatic niceties by saying that the Indian delegation was not "fully prepared" for the talks and that his Indian counterpart had repeatedly sought directions from Delhi as the deliberations were on. 

Krishna, on his part, refused to engage in "scoring debating points" but firmly said he had not called Delhi even once as he had a clear mandate. He dismissed Qureshi’s comment as "extraordinary". 

It was clear from Qureshi’s comments that Pakistan was insisting on Kashmir being a core issue in the discussions and on there being a "road-map" in addressing all bilateral matters. 

The Pakistani minister held out a veiled threat by stating, "if we focus more only on those issues which India gives importance to and ignore those considered important by Pakistan, then I don’t think the talks can move forward." 

Nevertheless, both the ministers refrained from calling the talks as having failed, with Krishna maintaining that the "extensive and serious discussions" had resulted in better understanding of each other’s position. Qureshi said there was no "deadlock" and that Pakistan would wait till India was "ready".

Krishna rejected Pakistan’s contention that India was not ready to discuss all issues and asserted that all "core" and "burning" problems were deliberated upon with the aim of reducing trust deficit. He rebuffed Qureshi for comparing Home Secretary G K Pillai with JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, saying there was "absolutely no comparison" between the two. Responding to the Pakistan Minister’s contention that the Indian delegation had a limited mandate to discuss issue, Krishna said "I had a clear mandate... 

 

"There was no ambiguity. As External Affairs Minister leading this delegation, I have confined myself to the mandate given to me and I am quite satisfied."

To a question on what were the gains of his visit, Krishna said, "the very fact that I went to Islamabad and I talked about core issues in our relationship...if you consider it as a gain, I am ready to go along with it. 

"We talked about some of the burning issues that confront the two countries. To that extent that we have contributed in a manner where the trust deficit is getting reduced as part of the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs)," he said. 

With regard to Mumbai attack investigations, he said that Pakistan never gave any timeline but he had clearly told Qureshi that unless the issue of terrorism is addressed, "all other efforts will be futile". He said Pakistan has been told that terrorism is the "biggest obstacle" in normalising relations between the two countries. 

Asked about Qureshi’s comparison of Home Secretary G K Pillai’s remarks that as per revelation by Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley, ISI was involved in Mumbai terror attacks, with LeT operative Hafiz Saeed’s anti-India speeches, the Minister shot back, "where is the question of comparison between the two statements? 

"Hafiz Saeed is a person who has been speaking out of turn against India. He has been crying for Jihad against India and we have always said that such people in Pakistan who incite hostile and anti-India propaganda will not smoothen relationship," he said. 

To a question on Qureshi’s aside on lack of clear mandate to Indian delegation, he said "I am not going to score debating points with Qureshi. I would like to concentrate on serious issues. We did discuss issues that are of concern to both of us. We have made some headway." Asked whether back-channel diplomacy would be preferred in the light of stalemate in talks, he said that it is something that will have to be evaluated. "I have invited Qureshi to India. I am looking forward to resuming the dialogue from where we left," he said.

Soon after his return from Islamabad, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna  apprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of his talks which ended in sharp differences over issues like Kashmir. 

Krishna was with Singh for about 30 minutes during which he gave a detailed account of his talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani. He did not speak to the waiting media persons. 

However, prior to his meeting with Singh, he said he had discussed with Qureshi all "core" and "burning" issues with an aim of reducing trust deficit between the two countries. Krishna said he had made it clear to his Pakistani interlocutors that terrorism was the core issue and unless it was addressed, "all other efforts will be futile".

He said he had conveyed to Pakistan that terrorism was the "biggest obstacle" in normalisation of relations and "focussed" action will have to be taken by Islamabad to build trust and confidence. 

The Foreign Ministerial talks in Islamabad were held as per the mandate given by Singh and Gilani to them to discuss steps for reduction of trust deficit. PTI