ISLAMABAD: Foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan got underway here on Thursday with foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir focusing on terrorism and conventional and nuclear-confidence building measures (CBMs).
Even though the first set of talks between Indian and Pakistani home secretaries had focused almost exclusively on terrorism and Mumbai trials, the issue formed part of the discussions on Thursday. But in a nod to Pakistani concerns, there were also discussions on the Samjhauta Express case, where India has just filed the first chargesheet.
On Friday, the two sides will sit down for talks on Jammu & Kashmir, something that the Pakistanis are placing a great deal of importance on. Pakistani foreign office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua said the first session would focus on Kashmir.
While neither side was forthcoming on the subject of Thursday's discussions, the MEA spokesperson said, "All aspects related to peace and security have been discussed... Terrorism is an issue that is confronting both countries and has affected peace and security in both countries."
Describing the talks as "cordial, substantive and forward-looking", officials said Friday's talks would include CBMs related to J&K.
Rao landed at Chaklala airbase in Rawalpindi in the morning for the "penultimate" round of bilateral talks. While the resumed dialogue process between India and Pakistan does not appear to be the composite dialogue which India dumped after 26/11, the elements of the dialogue are exactly the same as it used to be. For all intents and purposes, this is the composite dialogue, even though it is not quite labelled as such.
Pakistan is centering attention on the J&K round, hoping to push for a solution. India is looking at a broader approach, of "reducing trust deficits" and, as Rao said, "working towards an eventual normalisation of relations".
In the afternoon, visa counselor from the Indian high commission in Islamabad Sohail Khan met the six Indian crew members of MV Suez which reached Karachi on Thursday. They will return to India on Friday. Rao said, "We want our boys back home soon." The general narrative on Pakistani TV channels through the day was about how Pakistan had come to the Indian sailors' rescue after the Indian government had abandoned them.
After PM Manmohan Singh intervened on the issue of release of Pakistani virologist Dr Khaleel Chishty from a Rajasthan jail, sources here expect that this could happen soon. Chishty has been stuck since 1992 and even now it took a prime ministerial intervention to release the ailing 78-year-old doctor.
Calling the dialogue "part of a process", Rao described the relationship as "complex" with a long history. "We need to learn lessons from that history," she said. But "the best opportunities present themselves in difficult situations," she continued, adding that she had come to Islamabad with an "open mind and constructive approach".
Earlier this week, foreign minister S M Krishna set in motion the message of caution. "Patience is something that is called for. We will have to be realistic, we will have to be positive in our approach," he told journalists in New Delhi this week.