Cong walks tightrope,Advani says US pulling strings

As the UPA government moved to hold Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan,the ruling Congress on Monday sought to...

As the UPA government moved to hold Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan,the ruling Congress on Monday sought to draw the line for bilateral engagement,welcoming the commencement of talks as distinct from re-commencement that could involve resumption of composite dialogue process.

The government in its wisdom has made a determination based on inputs that there is need to commence a dialogue with Pakistan. Commencement needs to be underlined. We are not talking about recommencing; we are commencing. If the UPA government has taken a certain view,there is a strong case to allow the process to unfold itself, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said at a press briefing.

The statement came even as senior BJP leader L K Advani raised questions if the governments U-turn on dialogue was the upshot of a powerful nudge from Washington.

The ruling partys guarded response to the commencement of India-Pakistan dialogue came in the backdrop of the Congresss attempt to distance itself from the controversial Indo-Pak joint statement at Sharm el-Sheikh last July,which had sought to delink action on terror from dialogue.

Immediately after his return from the NAM summit,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had discussed the import of the statement,but the ruling party had chosen to project disquiet with its spokespersons refusing to endorse the statement for several days until Sonia came out to back the PM.

Tewari said that the governments diplomatic offensive against Pakistan had produced results as the neighbouring country admitted that its land was used to launch terrorist attack on India and its investigating agency conceded that 26/11 accused were related to Lashkar-e-Toiba. If you look at these facts,you draw the conclusion that it would be appropriate if the process of dialogue is allowed to proceed. Even after Sharm el-Sheikh,federal investing agency of Pakistan told the court that those accused are members of LeT. This is forward movement. We are not completely satisfied. Terror will be the central part of the dialogue, he said.

In his latest post on his blog,however,Advani said Pakistan appeared to be gloating over the UPA governments volte face on the issue of Indo-Pak dialogue,and referred to the statement made by Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday,in which he said that it was international pressure that had forced India to return to the negotiating table.

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The question people have been asking in a more straightforward manner is: After the 26/11 attack on Mumbai,India has been steadfastly refusing to resume talks with Pakistan until Islamabad brings those behind the Mumbai attacks to justice and cracks down on terrorist groups operating from its soil, the BJP Parliamentary Party chairman wrote. Is its latest U-turn on dialogue the upshot of a powerful nudge from Washington?