Describing the situation as a “lot better” than what it was a few days ago, Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid has said that ties with Pakistan can move forward in a “sensible and calibrated” way once the “dust settles”.
“It is important that we let a little time go by so that the dust as it were settles, and then in a sensible and a calibrated manner one can move forward,” said Khurshid, in reply to a question at his joint press interaction with Australian foreign minister Bob Carr.
“For the present I believe the situation looks a lot better than it did a few days ago,” he added. Khurshid said though that there still was no official offer of talks from Pakistan.
“I think there were suggestions on how to move forward and the possibility that it could be done in one way or the other. Of course, that is a suggestion that came through the media. We have already said that we believe moving from any attempt to suggest a third party intervention to bilateral interface is a positive signal,” said Khurshid.
“The fact that things have been quiet on the Line of Control, the fact that our DGMOs have been in touch in a meaningful way, I would believe that this all signifies a welcome shift in the right direction. But these are matters where the entire atmospherics and the entire context needs to be carefully studied, analysed from time to time before any further steps are taken,” he added.