Empowered Gilani helped India push dialogue

As India and Pakistan sought to give a fresh impetus to the stalled dialogue process in Thimphu....

As India and Pakistan sought to give a fresh impetus to the stalled dialogue process in Thimphu,it now emerges that New Delhis decision to go ahead with talks at the political level was prompted to quite an extent by the recent amendments to the Pakistan Constitution which sufficiently empower the Prime Minister.

In fact,official sources said,Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that he comes to the meeting far more empowered than before after the 18th Amendment. He also reaffirmed Pakistans commitment to not allow its territory to be used for terrorist activities besides giving an assurance to move expeditiously on the 26/11 trials.

As feelers went back and forth for a PM-level meeting in Thimphu,the Indian side came to the conclusion that if it stepped back from engaging Gilani,then it would only push him further into the camp of those who are not in favour of normalising ties between both countries. In other words,sources said,it was important to incentivise Gilani so that he could nurture the constituency for the peace process within his country.

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At the same time,India is keeping the expectations low because much would depend on how the Pakistan responds from now on. Emphasising that this was no start of a big grand dialogue,official sources explained that it was more an exercise aimed at restoring trust.

Interestingly,the Pakistan PM did not directly bring up the Baluchistan issue in his one-hour conversation barring a mention of concerns in Islamabad that India is involved in destabilising Pakistan. Singh is said to have made it clear that India has no interest in destabilising Pakistan and was open to clarifying specific doubts on this.

Gilani did,however,bring up the water controversy saying it has become quite an emotive issue in Pakistan. To this,Singh said that facts did not support any of the claims being made by certain sections in Pakistan and that India was willing to discuss the matter if Islamabad wanted further clarification.

From the Indian side,the emphasis remained on credible action on the terror front. In this context,Singh brought up Jamaat-ud-Dawa leaders Hafiz Mohammed Saeeds unchecked and brazen anti-India activities. He also asked Gilani to ensure speedy progress in 26/11 trials. While assuring that he would push for early conclusion of the 26/11 trial,Gilani apparently sought to explain the problems Pakistan is facing due to terrorism and the fact that its bureaucracy was overburdened.