Seeking to blame India for the last-minute hitch in talks,Pakistan today said New Delhi appeared to be unwilling to commit to a roadmap for future engagement and made it clear that the dialogue cannot move forward if Kashmir is not discussed. If we focus more only on those issues which India gives importance to and ignore those considered important by Pakistan,then I dont think the talks can move forward, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters,a day after his meeting with Indian counterpart S M Krishna. Kashmir has been part of our negotiations. It is a disputed territory. It is not possible to delink Kashmir from the negotiations, he said. He said it would not make sense to discuss aspects like cultural and trade relations while ignoring core issues like Jammu and Kashmir,peace and security and Siachen. We understand their concerns and want to address those. But there are concerns of Pakistan which they (India) should address, he said. Taking a dig at Krishna,Qureshi said he did not step out of the talks to attend any phone calls,but the Indian Foreign Minister received foreign policy directions from New Delhi repeatedly during our meeting. I led Pakistans team and I didnt need to make even a single phone call (to Pakistan leaders) during the day-long talks. Krishna is the principal for giving direction to foreign policy (but) why were directions being sent repeatedly from Delhi? He said the Indian side had been selective in yesterdays talks but such an approach did not Continued on page 2 India was selective,not prepared,says Qureshi conform to the spirit of the meeting of the Indian and Pakistan premiers in Bhutan in April as they had decided to discuss all issues. He said there was no deadlock but acknowledged that there were difficulties and problems that both sides would have to overcome. It is the nature of India-Pakistan talks that whenever there is progress,there is always a last minute hitch. There was no hitch from Pakistans side. Noting that Krishna had said he was prepared to discuss all issues,Qureshi said: We wanted that we should have a roadmap for the future at the end of this discussion and they felt they did not have the mandate to commit to a roadmap. Qureshi contended that India was narrowing the dialogue and Pakistan had made it clear that you cannot be selective in discussions. We are ready to engage,we are ready to negotiate any time,anywhere and we are not in a hurry. We will wait till they are ready, he said. Pakistan,he said,had shared a non paper with India on steps that could be taken to restore confidence and bridge the trust deficit. He said both sides had reached agreement on many issues about the areas in which progress could be made. He said his discussions with Krishna at an informal dinner on Wednesday night were very successful but that things changed a day later at the formal talks. I felt India,on a basic level,was not fully prepared, he said. He said Pakistan was not willing to back down on its historical position on the Kashmir issue. It was already decided that Kashmir is part of our talks and that it is a disputed territory. If it is said that Pakistans people and Kashmiris should become delinked from the situation inside (Jammu and Kashmir),that is not possible, he said. There may be mechanisms in India to watch human rights violations but if the Army is being deployed to maintain law and order,there is curfew in many cities,strikes across Jammu and Kashmir and innocent people are being affected,how can Pakistan become delinked? he said. Qureshi also contested Krishnas assertion that Pakistan has not provided even a shred of evidence of Indias alleged role in fomenting unrest in Balochistan,saying he had not spoken out at yesterdays joint press conference as he was the host and Krishna was his guest. According to my information,our Interior Minister discussed this with their Home Minister and (Krishna) should be aware of this, he said.
