India,Pakistan set to resume dialogue process

On the terror front,Pakistan is believed to have conveyed in the preparatory meetings last month that it would like to revive the Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism (JATM) but this has been firmly rejected by India. Sources added that Pakistan also floated the idea of comprehensive cooperation on terror through real-time intelligence-sharing during Home Minister P Chidamabaram’s visit but the Indian stand is that it first wants tangible results in the ongoing Mumbai case. So far,the Home Ministry is clear that progress is not fully satisfactory. In fact,the next meeting between Home Secretaries is contingent upon progress made in the Mumbai case and follow-up on the evidence collected in the Headley interrogation.

Despite this,the government view is that stalling the engagement process is no longer a productive strategy. In the briefing that Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao gave to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs,headed by BJP leader Ananth Kumar,on July 8 about the government’s overall approach as well as its intention to reopen conversation in various areas,there was said to be general support for the government. The discussion in the committee,sources said,was constructive and positive.

What has been explored so far and broadly agreed between both sides is the following:

* Commerce Secretary-level talks on economic cooperation and trade.

* Culture Secretary-level talks to promote people-to-people contact and friendly exchanges.

* Meeting of the Indo-Pak judicial committee on release of prisoners and fishermen.

* Meeting of the joint working group on cross LoC trade as well as increasing the number of trips besides looking at easing entry permit rules.

* Talks between Water Resources officials,a demand that Pakistan has made. While India is willing to hold talks on this,it does not want to undermine the Indus Waters Commission.

* On the Sir Creek issue,India has told Pakistan that it needs to first respond to the proposals made by India after the joint survey of the Creek. This issue,sources said,is still under discussion and greater clarity will probably come during the visit starting July 14.

New Delhi,however,is clear that this should not be construed as resumption of the Composite Dialogue,which has been Pakistan’s demand so far. Matters could not move forward in February when the foreign secretaries met because of Pakistan’s insistence on only the composite dialogue format.

After the two PMs met at Thimphu,some flexibility was possibly injected. When the foreign secretaries met at Islamabad this time,Pakistan proposed holding talks on all those issues India had suggested in February besides calling for a larger dialogue on water. They also wanted a conversation on Kashmir besides suggesting revival of JATM,but these have been turned down.

On the Kashmir issue,India first wants clarity from Islamabad on the progress achieved through the backchannel between 2004 and 2008. Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik,who met the External Affairs Minister and the Foreign Secretary a few days back is believed to have also raised the possibility of having talks on Siachen but New Delhi is more in favour of adopting an incremental approach than rushing into resuming conversation on all fronts especially when progress on the terror front has been relatively slow.