KARACHI: India’s outgoing Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao has said there is a change in Pakistan’s attitude towards tackling terrorism and it is a “concrete” development that India should take note of.
“I think the prism through which they see this issue has definitely been altered,” she said in a programme on CNN-IBN.
Replying to a question about her recent talks with Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, she said: “I think when they speak of the fact that non-state elements in this relationship need to be tackled; that we must look at safe havens and sanctuaries; that we must look at fake currency; we must look at all the aspects that are concerned with the business of terror, I think that is a concrete development.”
When asked about a change in the Indian position taken after the Mumbai terrorist attacks of not holding dialogue with Pakistan until there was substantive delivery on terrorism, Ms Rao said policy-making needed to be looked at in a dynamic situation. “I do not think you are making policy in a laboratory. You take into account the surrounding environment. You take into account the success of a certain approach.
“Did that approach (of not talking) yield too many dividends? Well, you have to make your assessment of that. I think the decision to re-engage with Pakistan and to talk about the issues that divide us, that create a gulf between us, to reduce the trust deficit, as the two prime ministers said, I think is a very realistic approach to dealing with problems with Pakistan.”
However, in reply to another question Ms Rao said she would not expect Pakistani officials to talk about the alleged strategic link between their state and militancy and terror that needed to be broken.
“Well, he is not going to say that in so many words to me. I think it would be unrealistic for me to expect that the foreign secretary of Pakistan is going to say that.”
“But let me say that the fact that we are discussing the threat, the scourge, the evil of terrorism and the fact that it has ramifications that extend into the entire region, I think is a development we must take note of," she said.
The Indian foreign secretary rejected suggestions that she was generous towards Pakistan. “That is not my interpretation and I do not believe that is the way diplomatic negotiations are transacted. I think we have to be realistic. We have to understand the difficulties in the terrain.” She said the talks had not focused just on the Mumbai case.
“We also discussed peace and security, we discussed the issue of Kashmir which has always formed a part of the dialogue.”
She said India had “adequately communicated” to Pakistan that it expected to see progress in the 26/11 trial and “we need concrete results”.
She said India had had a sustained dialogue with Pakistan on the issue, but concrete results appeared to be very far off.
“We have not seen anything actually happening on the Mumbai trial and that is the point of great concern to us. But let me ask you a question. Does it mean that dialogue is not an option that we should pursue with Pakistan?”
She agreed with former Indian home secretary G.K. Pillai’s assessment that the Mumbai trial had not moved an inch. “Well, it depends on how you look at it. From one angle certainly it has not moved an inch. I am not denying that.”
She said there had been a very glacial pace of the whole process as far as the trials were concerned. “But let me tell you what kind of feedback we got from the Pakistanis at this round. They spoke of the need to discuss all the serious and substantive issues between the two countries and terrorism was at the forefront of this.”
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