Indo-Pak FMs hail ‘new era’ in ties

India and Pakistan’s foreign ministers insisted relations were back on track on Wednesday after peace talks that highlighted a “new era” of cooperation over the ruptures of the past.
Although the meeting between Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and her Indian counterpart, SM Krishna, in New Delhi produced little in the way of substantive agreements, the tone was one of forward-looking optimism that acknowledged a joint responsibility to bring stability to South Asia.
The right track: After the talks, Krishna said ties were back “on the right track,” while Hina spoke of a “mindset change” that had ushered in a “new era of cooperation”. “We have some distance to travel, but with an open mind and a constructive approach …

I am sure we can reach our desired destination of having a friendly and cooperative relationship,” Krishna said.
Hina said the peace dialogue was now an “uninterruptible” process that both countries were committed to taking forward.
“A new generation of Indians and Pakistanis will see a relationship that will hopefully be much different from the one that has been experienced in the last two decades,” she said.
Statement: A joint statement outlined the commitment of both sides to fight militancy, boost trade and keep the peace process going.
Expectations of a breakthrough in talks any time soon remain modest given the fact that neither country has yet to take significant steps to normalise relations, such as withdrawing large numbers of troops from the border.
But the fact the rivals keep talking, and agreeing to small steps such as efforts to improve the lives of those living in the divided Kashmir region, indicate that neither side wants to slide back towards conflict.
“The fact that there is no train wreck is a positive augury,” said Uday Bhaskar, director of strategic think-tank National Maritime Foundation in New Delhi.
Foreign affairs expert Hasan Askari Rizvi said the two sides had skirted confrontation over the most controversial issues dogging ties for years, such as terrorism and Kashmir, and had been able to conclude the talks on a positive note.
“They haven’t entered the minefield. They stayed out and they made a good statement,” Rizvi said.
The pre-talks atmosphere had been soured by Hina’s decision to meet Kashmiri separatist leaders immediately after her arrival in New Delhi on Tuesday.
A senior Indian government source said the meeting was “not a good idea at all” and served “no useful purpose.” But Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir played down the issue, saying it had done nothing to cloud the Hina-Krishna meeting. “Reading more into it is not warranted,” he said.
Both foreign ministers stressed the role constructive ties between New Delhi and Islamabad would play in ensuring peace in the wider South Asia region.
India and Pakistan are jockeying for influence in Afghanistan ahead of the planned US troop withdrawal and Washington sees stable ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours as crucial to Afghanistan’s post-war viability. “It is the Afghan dynamic… that will define the regional context for Indo-Pak relations for years to come,” said C Raja Mohan, a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi.
Briefing: In a briefing following the talks, India Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said both sides remained “fully aware” of their deep differences and the challenges that lay ahead.
She also stressed the need for Pakistan to exact “speedy justice” on those responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which India blames on Pakistan-based militants.
Meetings: The foreign minister also held a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and conveyed the message of goodwill from Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
During the meeting, they discussed matters of mutual interest and on behalf of Gilani, Hina invited the Indian prime minister to visit Pakistan which Singh accepted.
She also met Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and senior leader of the Bharatya Janata Party (BJP) LK Advani. The Foreign Minister underscored the importance of BJP’s support for a sustained and result-oriented engagement between Pakistan and India.