India's new foreign secretary hints at restarting talks with Pakistan
NEW DELHI: India hinted Thursday at restarting peace talks with Pakistan that stalled over clashes earlier this year in the disputed region of Kashmir.
Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh said India would be “picking up the threads” of peace talks with the new Pakistani government led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
“There is a new government in Pakistan now. We will be picking up the threads from where we left off with the old government,” Singh told reporters in New Delhi on her first day in the job.
Singh however said that any dialogue with Islamabad “presupposes an environment free of violence and of terror”.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from British rule in 1947 and relations have historically been strained.
New Delhi broke off peace talks with Islamabad after gunmen killed 166 people in Mumbai in 2008, which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants. Talks resumed in 2011 with two rounds that focused largely on trade and visas.
But relations soured again in January and February this year after six soldiers in total from both sides were killed in exchanges along the de facto border with Kashmir, a region claimed by both countries.
India alleged that Pakistani troops beheaded one of its soldiers, a claim Pakistan denied.
Sharif has called for closer rapprochement with India since winning the general elections.
Tension however spiked between the countries in recent months with both sides protesting the deaths of prisoners held by the other.
Last week, Pakistan said Indian troops had killed a soldier in an “unprovoked” attack in Kashmir while the Indian army said it had fired in a “calibrated manner” in response to Pakistani firing.
Despite the skirmishes, analysts on both sides of the border have been hoping that Sharif's return to power will herald an improvement in ties.
Read more
Comments (6) Closed
Is there anyone who can point out a single gain by keeping the hostile environment prevail between the two countries? In the Nuclear age if someone is mad enough to think an armed conflict is the solution that individual must have medical attention. Only beneficiaries of the present situation are the two armies . Both exact hefty chunk of the Nation's budget and the high ups in the defence forces are living it up in their high society style of living. The soldiers are getting the worst kind of situations to live in. In the interest of both countries where millions suffer the human tragedy of gigantic proportions. desperate resources for health and education are crying for help. Come on politicians there is a way out of this quagmire. If it is too difficult for you, let two primary school teachers, one from each country, public schools to sit down and decide what is good for both countries.
Move for goodness sake before an other day passes. Shafiq
This report, produced by the AFP, is technically correct in writing that New Delhi broke off peace talks with Islamabad after gunmen killed 166 people in Mumbai in 2008, which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants. But it is misleading to only say India blamed the attacks on Pakistan-based militants. It was established without a doubt that the sole surviving gunman, Kasab, was a Pakistani citizen. For the AFP to imply that the gunmen may not have been from Pakistan simply destroys its reputation as a organization upholding objective journalism. Perhaps its bias is why Dawn reprints AFP reports.
If rare border incidents involving cross border firing and some casualties can be cause of abandoning important talks leading to long term peace better dont hold talks and waste time.
Before commencement of talks as a good will gesture India and Pakistan are requested to resume issue of visa to senior citizens of age seventy and above at the border. After finalising of the scheme people reached border, some Indian citizens were granted visa by Pakistan at the border but for some unknown reason visa to Pakistan senior citizens was not granted by Indian Immigration Officers
WHO CARE.
I am sure that Ms. Singh will also address the blames that were thrown at Pakistan after Mumbai attacks and the attack at their Parliament. Since there is a lot of cleaning up to do, I suggest humbly that she starts now. Don't wait for the cows to come home.
Comments (6) Closed
Is there anyone who can point out a single gain by keeping the hostile environment prevail between the two countries? In the Nuclear age if someone is mad enough to think an armed conflict is the solution that individual must have medical attention. Only beneficiaries of the present situation are the two armies . Both exact hefty chunk of the Nation's budget and the high ups in the defence forces are living it up in their high society style of living. The soldiers are getting the worst kind of situations to live in. In the interest of both countries where millions suffer the human tragedy of gigantic proportions. desperate resources for health and education are crying for help. Come on politicians there is a way out of this quagmire. If it is too difficult for you, let two primary school teachers, one from each country, public schools to sit down and decide what is good for both countries.
Move for goodness sake before an other day passes. Shafiq
This report, produced by the AFP, is technically correct in writing that New Delhi broke off peace talks with Islamabad after gunmen killed 166 people in Mumbai in 2008, which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants. But it is misleading to only say India blamed the attacks on Pakistan-based militants. It was established without a doubt that the sole surviving gunman, Kasab, was a Pakistani citizen. For the AFP to imply that the gunmen may not have been from Pakistan simply destroys its reputation as a organization upholding objective journalism. Perhaps its bias is why Dawn reprints AFP reports.
If rare border incidents involving cross border firing and some casualties can be cause of abandoning important talks leading to long term peace better dont hold talks and waste time.
Before commencement of talks as a good will gesture India and Pakistan are requested to resume issue of visa to senior citizens of age seventy and above at the border. After finalising of the scheme people reached border, some Indian citizens were granted visa by Pakistan at the border but for some unknown reason visa to Pakistan senior citizens was not granted by Indian Immigration Officers
WHO CARE.
I am sure that Ms. Singh will also address the blames that were thrown at Pakistan after Mumbai attacks and the attack at their Parliament. Since there is a lot of cleaning up to do, I suggest humbly that she starts now. Don't wait for the cows to come home.