Journalism of Courage
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilanis assurance that he will be able to expedite the trial of the Mumbai attack accused in a Lahore court,and New Delhis assessment that he has the leverage with the Pakistani Establishment to get things moving faster,today led India to take a step forward and agree to a substantive dialogue,The Indian Express has learnt.
Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Gilani agreed to think afresh on the way forward,and asked the foreign ministers and foreign secretaries to work out the modalities to pave the way for a substantive dialogue.
The two sides have decided to meet as soon as possible as per the PMs instructions,Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said after the hour-long one-on-one meeting held without official note-takers from either side on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit here.
By giving the foreign ministers the green signal to meet thereby raising the dialogue process to a political level as Islamabad has been wanting New Delhi believes it has given Gilani a widened opportunity to work the levers of the Establishment in his country.
According to New Delhis assessment,Gilanis understanding with the Pakistani military is on sounder ground than President Asif Ali Zardaris,and he will be able to deliver better on the 26/11 trial process.
Sources told The Indian Express that elements of the outcome of the PMs meeting which was joined after an hour by the foreign ministers and foreign secretaries,followed by officials had been scripted in advance,though the entire outcome was not.
The decision not to give a joint statement after the meeting was taken at a higher level after the experience of Sharm-el-Sheikh,where the first steps taken to open channels of communication with Islamabad caused a severe political backlash in India.
Sources said that New Delhi was not going to go back to the old format of the composite dialogue process with eight themes and sub-groups which was stalled following the 26/11 terror attacks. The two sides have since met on the fringes of multilateral meetings,and the first official engagement took place in February when the two foreign secretaries met in New Delhi.
Dialogue was never broken off, Nirupama Rao said,adding,all issues of concern will be discussed.
Asked if the composite dialogue process would be resumed,she said,I dont think we have to get stuck with the nomenclature. Dialogue is the only way forward.
The PM told Gilani that he was concerned at the slow progress of the Mumbai attacks trial in Pakistan,and although India remains willing to discuss all issues of concern,terrorism is holding back the dialogue process.
Gilani assured Singh that Pakistan was serious about combating terrorism,and all efforts were under way to bring the trial to a speedy conclusion.
Singh,who believes the Mumbai trial is key to the resumption of dialogue,is understood to have taken note of the fact that Gilani came across as being sincere.
The PM brought up New Delhis deep concerns about Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Saeed,who has been repeatedly making virulent anti-India statements.
Todays engagement,Rao said,was an exercise in mutual comprehension. There was a lot of soul-searching,and the emphasis was on the renewal of dialogue. There was confluence of thought that dialogue is the only way forward, she said.
Pakistans Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters that both the sides have realized the fact that the two countries must bridge their gaps and end the trust deficit.
Rao said the searchlight is on the future,not on the past.
