Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries held extensive talks in New Delhi on Tuesday, focusing on anti-terrorism mechanisms and the Kashmir issue.
Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shanker Menon and his Pakistani counterpart, Riaz Mohammed Khan, reviewed the gamut of India-Pakistan relations, including a slew of confidence building steps that the two rivals have taken since beginning their dialogue nearly three years ago, an Indian official said.
"The talks reviewed the composite dialogue process, Kashmir, and examined ways to implement a proposed anti-terror mechanism that the two countries have agreed to set up," Navtej Sarna, spokesman of India's External Affairs Ministry, said following the first day of talks.
Tuesday's interaction marked the resumption of peace talks suspended by India after bombs ripped through Mumbai's commuter rail network in July, killing over 200 people. New Delhi blamed the deadly attack on the Pakistan intelligence service and a Pakistan-based militant group, allegations strongly rejected by Islamabad.
Two months later, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf decided to resume the talks when they met in Havana, Cuba on the sidelines of the Non-aligned Movement Summit in September.
The key to the process' resumption was a deal to create a joint anti-terror mechanism working together to halt terrorists.
India has been pushing for joint terror-fighting efforts hoping that the involvement of Pakistani security agencies and providing them with evidence of Pakistan-based militant groups' activities would encourage the authorities in Islamabad to act against terror cells.
Pranab Mukherjee, India's external affairs minister, after meeting with Khan and other Pakistani officials later Tuesday, emphasized the importance of India and Pakistan joining hands in the fight against terrorism, Sarna said.
India and Pakistan have a history of hostile relations, having fought three wars since the partition of the subcontinent upon independence from Britain in 1947, two of them directly related to the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir.
India accuses Pakistan of funding and training the separatist rebels who cross over into the Indian portion of Kashmir and carry out terror strikes. Pakistan denies the charges, claiming it only offers the rebels moral and diplomatic support.
While ending terror attacks remains India's prime concern, Pakistan, meanwhile, is eager to discuss concessions on divided Kashmir, a predominantly Muslim and lies at the heart of the rivalry between largely Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan.
Although no major breakthrough is expected during these talks, Indian officials remained optimistic, saying the resumption of the peace dialogue was itself a positive step.
(China Daily November 15, 2006)
