Pakistan resume peace talks

The joint statement came after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Sharif and later his Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz here on the concluding day of her two-day visit for attending a multilateral conference on Afghanistan.

To his advantage here, while National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval is guiding the ground work deftly, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj is just the right person to provide the warmth that any success on the India-Pak dialogue front is required.

The development stemmed from a string of bilateral, trilateral and quadrilateral meetings in Islamabad involving Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, and top American and Chinese officials.

Nearly three years after the “resumed dialogue” was stalled following the killing of Indian soldiers, including one who was beheaded, India and Pakistan agreed to restart the dialogue process under the new rubric of “Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue”.

Citing this week’s successful talks in Bangkok, they also vowed to continue addressing all issues related to terrorism, according to the joint declaration.

“It’s time that we show the maturity and self confidence to work with each other and reinforce regional trade and co-operation”.

Since November 2008 attacks in Mumbai, in which 164 people were killed and over 300 injured, the relations between Pakistan and India have been dominated by New Delhi’s demands that the perpetrators be brought to justice and that the Islamabad gives assurance that it will prevent any such attacks in future. “We hope they will sincerely and honestly cooperate with Afghanistan to make the reconciliation result-oriented”, he said.

Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said the foreign secretaries of both countries would meet to set an agenda for meetings on “peace and security”.

At the summit, Swaraj said, “The “Heart” of Asia can not function if arteries are clogged”.

“The complete world is ready and rooting for a change. Nothing can benefit Afghanistan more immediately than full and direct overland access to India’s markets”, she said. These talks, too, were suspended in January 2013 after India accused Pakistani soldiers of beheading an Indian jawan along the Line of Control.

Pakistani opposition lawmaker Sherry Rehman, a foreign policy expert, said the agreement was “important” but expressed disappointment that the dialogue would start from scratch. “But today, let us at least resolve to help Afghanistan – in the best traditions of good neighbourliness – through more effective transit arrangements”.

She stressed it was the collective duty of all to ensure that the forces of terror and extremism do not find sanctuaries and safe havens in any name, form or manifestation. “It’s exactly what we’ve been strongly trying to encourage”, Kirby said.

After 18 months in office which saw a deep freeze in ties, the Narendra Modi-led NDA government has now made its boldest move yet with Pakistan, resuming structured talks in a new avatar – comprehensive bilateral dialogue.

Ghani, while insisting he did not want to engage in a “blame game” with Sharif, added there had been “considerable uncertainty whether Pakistan would truly acknowledge a sovereign Afghan state with its legitimate government and constitution”.