New Delhi, June 26
The talks between the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan, which were to be held in Islamabad in mid-July, have been postponed. However, the development has nothing to do with the arrest of Syed Zabiuddin Ansari, alias Abu Jundal, one the key plotters of the Mumbai attack.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna was scheduled to travel to Pakistan on July 17-18 to review the progress in the second round of the dialogue process with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar.
According to MEA spokesman Syed Akbaruddin, the two sides were now looking at the possibility of holding the meeting between the foreign ministers sometime in August.
Meanwhile, the foreign secretaries of the two countries would meet in New Delhi on July 4-5 to prepare the ground for the talks between the foreign ministers. Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and his Pakistani counterpart Jalil Abbas Jilani will discuss issues like peace and security, including confidence-building measures, Jammu and Kashmir and promotion of friendly exchanges.
Since the talks between the two diplomats will take place days after the arrest of Jundal, India is expected to raise the issue at the meeting and reiterate its demand that Pakistan bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage.
On the postponement of the talks between the foreign ministers, the MEA spokesperson said: ''This is purely a scheduling issue...please don't mix it with the substance of the relationship.''
He said Krishna's visit was indeed planned in mid-July but other developments had intervened since then. In this connection, he referred to the presidential election in India on July 19, followed by the monsoon session of Parliament, likely to begin on July 26. ''With these considerations in mind, we are looking at dates sometime in August.''
The political events in Pakistan last week when Yousuf Raza Gilani was disqualified as the country's Prime Minister by the Supreme Court and the election of his successor, also appear to have influenced the decision to postpone Krishna's visit.
On the arrest of the Jundal, Akbaruddin said the credit for the achievement could not go to any particular agency but the country as a whole. On reports that the MEA was almost in the dark until yesterday about the arrest of the Mumbai attack plotter, he said ''these are matters of a sensitive nature which could not be discussed in public domain.''
