New Delhi, June 25
At least eight to 12 fresh confidence-building measures (CBMs) relating to military, non-military and general cooperation between New Delhi and Islamabad are expected to be announced by India on June 27 and 28 when the two countries hold Foreign Secretary-level talks here, well-placed sources said today.
The Ministry of External Affairs, in consultation with National Security Adviser J.N. Dixit and the Prime Minister’s Office, has prepared detailed sets of the CBMs and these would be presented to the Pakistani side when Foreign Secretary Shashank has talks with his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Khokhar.
Three CBMs that are certain to be proposed by India are raising strengths of the respective missions from the present sanctioned figure of 75 to 110; re-opening the Indian Consulate in Karachi and the Pakistani Consulate in Mumbai; and release of prisoners and detained fishermen on mutual basis.
It is a conscious decision of the Government of India to come forward with fresh CBMs to demonstrate its good intent and commitment to carry forward the present process.
On the flip side is the fact that Pakistan is still maintaining the terrorism infrastructure on territory under its control and training. Besides, activities like indoctrination and funding of terrorist outfits are still intact and the communication traffic between Pakistan-based terrorist outfits and their cadres in India is still continuing.
The signal that Pakistan wants to give by this, according to analysts, is that it has the wherewithal of terrorism ready and at its command which it can use at an appropriate time later with a high deniability quotient.
A significant point is that Pakistan did not raise the Kashmir issue for a long period from 1972 to 1990. Since 1990, Pakistan has been harping on the so-called human rights violations by the Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi’s standpoint is that it has never shied away from discussing the issue of Kashmir with Pakistan.
The two Foreign Secretaries, each will be assisted by a delegation, will start talks in Hyderabad House on June 27. The two sides would have four hours of talks, including a working lunch. The same schedule is to be repeated on June 28. After the talks, a joint statement is expected.
The first day of talks would focus on “peace and security, including CBMs”, while the second day talks will focus on Jammu and Kashmir.
After the conclusion of the talks, the Pakistani side would call on the Indian leadership on June 28, including External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh and Mr J.N. Dixit. The Pakistani delegation is also expected to call on the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.
The Manmohan Singh government is not approaching the talks with the objective of stating the stated positions but with a positive frame of mind and the determination to carry this process forward, sources stressed.
They said it was unrealistic to talk about a time frame or a deadline for resolving all bilateral disputes between India and Pakistan. Indications were available today that the current process was not going to be a shortlived as sources confirmed that Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali would indeed be travelling to India in October in his capacity as SAARC Chairman.
