ISLAMABAD – The Indo-Pak peace process which came to halt in November 2008 in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks made no progress in 2010 despite efforts on both the sides to revive the dialogue.
With the help of the Obama administration, though in a secret way, the two countries conducted back channel diplomacy after India announced the suspension of composite dialogue process with Pakistan in February 2010. Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir visited New Delhi to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao.
However, the stalemate could not be ended. Indian Foreign Secretary described the meeting on February 25 with her Pakistani counterpart as a useful discussion, saying it would be premature to restart broader bilateral discussions, but added the two sides had agreed to keep talking informally. Rao asked Pakistan to take action against Hafiz Saeed, the leader of banned militant group,
Lakshar-e-Taiba. Foreign Secretary Bashir expressed anger over Indian depictions of Pakistan as an epicenter for breeding terrorism and said his country was also a victim of terrorist groups. He described the longstanding Kashmir problem as the core issue. He also presented the documents outlining Pakistani concerns over water rights. After the inconclusive foreign secretaries-level talks, again it was a long silence for any formal talks between the two sides but South Asian nations kept the back channels open on the US prodding.
The Obama administration’s deep interest in Afghanistan and its anti-terrorism efforts against Al-Qaeda and Taliban required continuation of Pakistani forces’ deployment on its border with Afghanistan rather than possible increase of troops on India border in case of any escalation of tension. The US facilitation resulted in top-level talks between Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Manmohan Singh in Bhutan on the sidelines of SAARC summit in April 2010.
The two leaders agreed that relations between the two countries should be normal and channels of contact should work effectively. The Indian prime minister emphasised various issues such as terrorism, rise in alleged infiltration and slow progress in the trial of the 26/11 perpetrators.
It was decided at the meeting that their foreign ministers would meet soon in Islamabad in a bid to resume the suspended dialogue.
The meeting between Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart SM Krishna ended again without any breakthrough after Pakistan insisted on a timeframe for talks on Kashmir and all other outstanding issues while India asked for concrete anti-terrorism efforts by Islamabad. At the end of the talks, the Indian external affairs minister invited Shah Mehmood to visit India for further talks but that visit didn’t take place in 2010.
The major reason for Pakistan’s decision against the visit of Qureshi to India is Islamabad’s stance that it would go ahead with the important trip if India assures it would result in meaningful negotiations.
One reason for Pakistan’s frustration is New Delhi’s failure to formally respond to Islamabad’s proposal to send a commission to India to interview Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving alleged terrorist of the Mumbai attacks, police and judicial officials.
Now all eyes are fixed on the visit of Foreign Minister Qureshi to India likely to take place in January 2011, thanks to ‘back channel diplomacy’ with the US help, but Pakistan’s foreign policy managers have not attached any high hopes to the trip owing to New Delhi’s obsession with the Mumbai attacks and the speedy trial without which its says revival of composite dialogue is not possible.
