By IANS,
New Delhi : The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan are likely to meet after Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s expected visit to Islamabad later this month, brightening the chances of resumption of the composite dialogue that stalled after the 26/11 terror attacks.
The talks, however, will focus at this stage on terror and actions taken by Pakistan to prosecute the Mumbai carnage perpetrators, well-placed sources said.
Although no formal announcement has been made so far, Chidambaram is set to go to Islamabad to attend the Feb 26-28 meeting of home/interior ministers of the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Chidambaram is likely to be accompanied by Home Secretary G.K. Pillai and Intelligence Bureau Director Rajiv Mathur.
If he goes to Islamabad, Chidambaram said Monday, he could hold bilateral talks with Pakistani leaders on the sidelines of the multilateral forum.
Chidamabram’s visit to Islamabad, if it comes off, will be the first of an Indian minister since the 26/11 Mumbai attack that suspended bilateral dialogue and brought ties to an all-time low. It will also signal a willingness on the part of India to restart formal engagement, albeit in a limited manner.
The final decision on Chidambaram’s visit will be taken by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in consultation with the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the sources said.
The meeting of foreign secretaries is expected to be followed by the meeting between the foreign ministers and prime ministers of the two countries on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in Thimphu April 28-29.
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Tuesday hinted that India and Pakistan could meet for a fresh round of talks, saying the doors to “talks” were never shut.
He, however, made it clear that any talks with Pakistan at this stage would only focus on terror and actions taken by Pakistan to dismantle the anti-India terror infrastructure on its soil.
“Based on the dossiers provided by India, Pakistan should investigate further and bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice,” Krishna said Tuesday.
“The terror infrastructure in Pakistan has been the focal point of dialogue with Pakistan and will continue to be the focal point,” Krishna said when asked about the possibilities of resuming composite dialogue with Pakistan.
In a recent interview, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani made a fresh pitch for resuming composite dialogue while advising India not to allow the entire relationship to be held hostage by the single incident of 26/11 attacks.
The last time the leaders of the two countries met was in Sharm el-Sheikh in July last year when they decided to delink composite dialogue from actions taken by Pakistan against terror outfits.
After talks, Singh and Gilani had instructed their foreign secretaries to meet as often as possible and report to their foreign ministers on actions taken by Pakistan against terror.
Since Sharm el-Sheikh, the mood has hardened in India amid a widespread feeling that Pakistan has done little to bring perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage to justice.
However, in the last week, there is a slight softening on India’s part with reports of Islamabad moving ahead against the 26/11 accused.