'Pak must conduct reappraisal of its efforts to engage India'

Pakistan must conduct a reappraisal of its efforts to engage India and it should independently ascertain whether certain persons allegedly involved in militancy enjoy protection and if so, why? Asking for reasons for the current hold up in the bilateral dialogue with India, the Pakistani media has called upon its government to show greater flexibility.

Calling India and Pakistan must find means to move forward, The News daily commenting on the recent meeting of Foreign Ministers of two countries counseled its own government that Mumbai cannot be forgotten.

Nor should be attempts be made to find out who was responsible be abandoned as this would raise the possibility of more terrorism of a similar nature. But other mainstream Pakistani media said if India refuses to hold dialogue, Islamabad should take up its substantive issues with India like Kashmir issue, sharing of water and the situation in Afghanistan globally.

The influential Dawn newspaper, in an editorial titled 'Stalemate', acknowledged that there was "not much more that (Pakistan) can or should do" to ensure the resumption of the composite dialogue, which was suspended by India in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks.

It said Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's suggestion that he would be willing to travel to India if it could help "change attitudes there towards engagement with Pakistan" was a move that is "frankly unadvisable" as Islamabad has "already made all the gestures necessary to indicate its willingness to talk".

The daily advised that the "foremost lesson for Pakistan" is that when the two sides finally re-engage, "and this is inevitable given the outstanding issues between the two countries Pakistan should demand that the big issues, Kashmir, water, Afghanistan, etc, should be addressed upfront".

The Daily Times, in its editorial titled "Indo-Pak dialogue: some basic questions", called for a comprehensive reappraisal of Pakistan's efforts to engage India in a dialogue. It should decide whether future talks should get India to move towards an overhaul of bilateral relations or the resumption of the composite dialogue "just for the sake of talking".

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