The Hindu : Front Page : Pranab's visit sends out positive signals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 15, 2007
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Pranab's visit sends out positive signals

Nirupama Subramanian

It drew up an India-Pakistan calendar of events

ISLAMABAD: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee flew out of Pakistan after a two-day visit that expectedly did not produce any big breakthroughs in the peace process but succeeded in its mission of sending out signals of positive intentions.

Talks between Mr. Mukherjee — on his first visit ever to this country, and one by the External Affairs Minister after a gap of 15 months — and Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri have resulted in the drawing up of a busy India-Pakistan calendar of events in the coming months.

First, Mr. Kasuri is to visit New Delhi for the meeting of the India-Pakistan joint commission, during which the two sides will sign a fistful of agreements. The agreements on nuclear accidents risk reduction and prevention of incidents at sea were negotiated and settled some time ago and have been in the queue, but their signing is certain to generate enthusiasm nevertheless.

The two sides also signalled the inauguration of a new phase of the peace process by fixing dates for the fourth round of the eight-subject, secretary-level composite dialogue that includes Siachen and Kashmir. It will begin with the Foreign Secretaries' meeting on March 13 and 14.

Although Mr. Mukherjee ruled out setting a time-frame for the resolution of the Siachen issue, Mr. Kasuri's revelation that Pakistan had presented a detailed plan to address the Indian concern for `indication" of troop positions on the glacier, could mean more intensive discussions on the issue in the coming round of the composite dialogue. The ministers said they had directed officials to meet soon to discuss the plan. It is clear that both sides are also satisfied with the back channel discussions on Kashmir.

For New Delhi, the visit specifically provided an opportunity for a discussion on terrorism and yielded a time-frame for the first meeting of the joint anti-terror mechanism, which was set up at the New Delhi meeting of the Foreign Secretaries in November 2006.

At that meeting, Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shanker Menon presented his Pakistan counterpart Riaz Muhammed Khan some material on the alleged involvement of Pakistan-based groups and individuals in terrorist attacks, and the two sides are expected to discuss this at the first meeting of the mechanism, which is to be held by the end of March 2007.

The agreement to give "political impetus" to talks during Mr. Mukherjee's 70-minute discussions with President Pervez Musharraf is being viewed as significant by both sides.

Both Indian and Pakistani officials were upbeat after Mr. Mukherjee's talks on Saturday with President Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Mr. Kasuri.

Conciliatory figure

By the end of the Indian Minister's visit, Pakistanis who saw Mr. Mukherjee as a "hawk" at the time he take over the External Affairs portfolio, were saying that he had come across as a conciliatory figure who had sent out all the right signals.

But for Pakistan, the continuing disappointment is the delay in the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Indian minister's statement that "suitable dates" are being worked out was seen as a euphemism for "not coming yet." This struck the only negative chord during the visit.

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