Talking again? India and Pakistan move on from Mumbai

Friday, 17 July 2009, 16:39 IST
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Sharm-el-Sheikh: Nearly eight months after the Mumbai attacks, the India-Pakistan dialogue was back on track with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani agreeing after nearly three hours of talks to share "real time credible and actionable information" on any future terrorist threats. In a significant development, the two countries issued a joint statement declaring that they would delink "action on terrorism" from the composite dialogue process. "Both prime ministers recognized that dialogue is the only way forward. Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed," a joint statement issued after the talks said. The composite dialogue process was abandoned by India after the Nov 26-29 Mumbai terror attacks that India blames on Pakistani militant groups. India had earlier stated that it wants credible action to bring the Mumbai perpetrators to justice and to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism on Pakistani soil. The phrase "credible action" found mention in the joint statement as well. "Both leaders agreed that the two countries will share real time credible and actionable information on any future terrorist threats," it stated. In an indication that India was willing to go along with Pakistani assurances on Mumbai, the statement said: "Prime Minister Singh reiterated the need to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice. Prime Minister Gilani assured that Pakistan will do everything in its power in this regard. "He said that Pakistan has provided an updated status dossier on the investigations of the Mumbai attacks and had sought additional information/evidence. Prime Minister Singh said that the dossier is being reviewed." The two countries also recognized that terrorism was a common and "main threat". "Both leaders agreed that terrorism is the main threat to both countries. Both countries affirmed their resolve to fight terrorism and to cooperate with each other to this end," the document stated. Interestingly, while Jammu and Kashmir, their main source of tension, was not mentioned in the one-page statement, Balochistan was. "Prime Minister Gilani mentioned that Pakistan has some information on threats in Balochistan and other areas," it said. Manmohan Singh reiterated India's interest in "a stable, democratic Islamic Republic of Pakistan". Taking their relationship forward, it was agreed that the "real challenge is development and the elimination of poverty which prevent our countries from realizing their full potential". According to the joint statement, the foreign secretaries of the two countries should meet as often as necessary and report to their ministers, who will meet on the sidelines of the coming UN General Assembly.
Source: IANS
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