India asked Pakistan on Thursday to speed up the court trial of seven activists of the defunct Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) that it was holding for their alleged role in the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008.
India made the demand during the first round of the two-day foreign secretary-level talks that began here to discuss ways to settle the Kashmir dispute and also to deliberate upon peace and security, including confidence-building measures. The first round of talks on Thursday between Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao was focused on peace and security and the confidence-building measures that the two sides had taken or intended to take in future to facilitate the dialogue process.
The two sides had decided before the commencement of talks that the Kashmir issue would be deliberated upon in detail along with the promotion of friendly exchanges on the second day of talks between the top diplomats from the two countries.
“As India hinted before the arrival of its foreign secretary in Islamabad for the vital talks, the Indian side asked Pakistan to accelerate the ongoing court trial of the Mumbai attacks accused, including Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and others currently detained by Pakistan,” said a diplomatic source who asked not to be named. He said the demand by India did displease the Pakistani side, which was of the view that the talks must focus on Kashmir and peace and security in accordance with the dialogue agenda, but it decided to move forward with the talks in a positive manner nevertheless. Before the commencement of the meeting, however, the two sides expressed the resolve and determination to push forward their “sluggish peace process”.
Bashir said the two sides were approaching the talks with a great sense of confidence, optimism and determination. Rao said she agreed with Bashir, adding that it was an “apt statement” on his part. “This is an important point in the relationship and will also help the two sides to prepare the agenda for the ministerial meeting in the near future,” said Bashir. Rao said the two sides had a clear agenda in front of them and they had also held good meetings in the past few months.
“We are approaching these talks with an open and constructive mind in order to work towards building trust and confidence in the bilateral relationship, thereby leading to an eventual normalisation of ties for the well-being and prosperity of the people of the two countries,” said Rao. “I bring with me the best wishes of the people and the government of India for the people and government of Pakistan.
We wish to see a stable, peaceful and prosperous Pakistan,” she added.
“This is an important visit as it marks the penultimate leg of the resumed dialogue process before the visit of the foreign minister of Pakistan to India by July 2011,” she said, adding that she would discuss with her counterpart the issues that had been mandated to them by their leadership.
“We wish to engage with you in not only walking the trajectory but also exploring new avenues further,” said Bashir.
“This series of meetings is of great importance,” he added. The top diplomats first had a one-on-one meeting that was followed by the delegation-level talks.
A Pakistani official seeking anonymity said that during the two-day talks, nuclear and conventional confidence-building measures would also be discussed apart from focused talks on Kashmir and peace and security.
No breakthroughs are expected in the talks, but the contacts are considered a key element of efforts to stabilise the region after US President Barack Obama announced the start of US troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, AFP reported that Nirupama Rao has been appointed India’s next ambassador to the US. A formal announcement in this regard is expected soon, it added.
