Manmohan, Musharraf back on talking terms

Arindam Sen Gupta / TNN / Sep 17, 2006, 00:22 IST

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The Prime Minister and Pakistan President held talks amid indications the two may have agreed for the revival of the composite dialogue, beginning with secretary-level talks.

Manmohan, Musharraf back on talking terms

HAVANA: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf held talks here on Saturday amid indications the two may have agreed for the revival of the composite dialogue, beginning with foreign secretary-level talks.
The two leaders had an hour-long one-on-one at Protocol House of the International Convention Centre, venue of the NAM Summit.
Later, they were joined by foreign secretary Shyam Saran and national security advisor M K Narayanan to finalise the draft of a joint statement, to be released later in the evening.
The foreign secretary-level talks were scheduled in July but had to be put off because India showed its reluctance to go into the exercise in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai suburban trains.

The stage for the revival of the bilateral dialogue had looked set when Singh, in a bold albeit politically fraught departure from India’s traditional stance, held that terrorist groups operating from Pakistani soil could be acting autonomously, rather than on instructions from Islamabad.
India had so far held that anti-India terror groups had the patronage of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence.
The PM also tried to give comfort to Musharraf by describing Pakistan as a victim of terror.

At the time of reporting, attention was focused on the possible contents of the joint statement. While terrorism is sure to find mention, as in similar documents in the past, India would prefer to have a specific commitment from Pakistan to restrain groups engaged in anti-India terror campaign and operating out of territory under its control.
Earlier, addressing the NAM Summit, Singh focused on terrorism. "A message must emanate from us that we are united in our desire to fight and eliminate the scourge of terrorism."
However, he cautioned against allowing "the forces of intolerance and extremism to distract the world’s attention from the vital concerns of our people - the problems of poverty, ignorance and disease."
In his address, Musharraf said: "A historic opportunity exists that must be seized by the leadership of the two countries to bring to a close the chapter of tensions and conflict in our region. It is of paramount importance that we devote all energies to... ensuring poverty alleviation, universal education, better health and higher standards of living for our people."
"Three years of peace process with India have led to confidence building and improved environment. We are determined to pursue the peace process to resolve all outstanding issues with India, including the Jammu & Kashmir dispute," he said in his speech.

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