September 25
Ending weeks of speculation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh confirmed he would be meeting his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif on September 29 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York.

In a statement issued prior to his departure to the US on Wednesday morning, the Prime Minister said he “looked forward to bilateral meetings” with leaders of neighbouring countries “including Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan”.

The low-key announcement was indicative of the extreme caution with which the Indian side is approaching the first meeting of the two Prime Ministers, with an official source stating that it would help the two countries review “where we are and what we need to do”.

On Pakistan’s part, The Tribune learns that when the two Prime Ministers meet, Nawaz Sharif is likely to offer “full normalisation” of trade relations with India, which — apart from granting Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status — would push for a bilateral free-trade agreement that will enhance investment flow between the nations. The Pakistan Prime Minister will also push for a resumption of the stalled dialogue process.

On India’s approach, sources told The Tribune that India will ask Pakistan to take concrete steps to restore the “tranquillity of the LoC” before agreeing to restart the dialogue process. Manmohan Singh will also ask Sharif to speed up the trial of the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Meanwhile, Pakistan this week sent a judicial commission to Mumbai to collect evidence and cross-examine witnesses who had deposed in the 26/11 trial in India.

Apart from these issues, India is keen that Pakistan moves forward on what an official source termed “the unfinished agenda” on economic and trade affairs, including MFN status, which the previous Pakistan Government had agreed to grant last September but failed to implement. That concern would be more than met if Nawaz Sharif makes the offer of comprehensive normalisation of trade relations with India.

Relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated considerably after the Indian Government blamed the Pakistan Army for killing five Indian soldiers on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) on August 5. Since then the two armies have exchanged fire along the LoC almost on a daily basis shattering the 2003 ceasefire agreement. Earlier, tensions had risen between the two countries in January over the beheading of an Indian soldier by Pakistan Army forces on the LoC.