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India, Pak DGMOs to draw road map for LoC peace
Manmohan talks tough in his first meeting with Sharif in New York, says border tranquillity a precondition for dialogue
Raj Chengappa

New York, September 29
The controversy-ridden first meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York ended with the two neighbours reflecting the undercurrent of tensions that prevailed.

PM to Pak: End truce violations The PM clearly told Pakistan that "peace on LoC was a precondition" for improvement in ties Manmohan Singh also pressed for meaningful action by Pakistan on terrorism emanating from its territory Both sides agreed to task the Director General of Military Operations of the two armies to come out with an effective road map to ensure ceasefire along the LoC Manmohan said India looked forward to speedy progress on the trial in Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack to book Trade issues were also discussed but it was decided to first tackle the immediate issue of tranquillity on the border before moving forward on the others With the talks happening in the backdrop of continued firings on the LoC, both sides appeared wary to make any commitments on key outstanding issues between the two countries whether on Sir Creek, Siachen and Kashmir though these were discussed

India took a tough stand and insisted on the restoration of peace and tranquillity on the Line of Control (LoC) as a precondition to move forward on the stalled dialogue process. Both sides agreed to task the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the two armies to come out with an effective road map to ensure that the 2003 ceasefire agreement is enforced on the LoC and take steps to maintain tranquillity.

Describing the talks as “useful and necessary”, National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon, who briefed the media, said: “Both sides want to have better relations with each other but we needed to address issues like ceasefire violations first.”

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani appeared more optimistic in his assessment of the outcome stating that the “talks were positive and constructive” and that, “the main purpose of the meeting was to create a conducive environment to discuss and resolve all outstanding issues.”

The only significant outcome appears to be that despite stiff resistance from many quarters in India, the Indian Prime Minister decided to keep his appointment with Sharif and the meeting went off without any incidents. But then in the hour-long meeting Manmohan Singh stuck to his script he had outlined in his engagements prior to it including his tough statement against Pakistan in the UN General Assembly the previous day and his discussions with US President Barack Obama where he described Pakistan as the epicentre of terror and mentioned that he was not too hopeful about the outcome of the talks.

When Sharif met Singh in a suite in New York Palace in mid-town Manhattan where the Indian Prime Minister was staying, the greeting was formal. Though both speak Punjabi, the usual pleasantries were exchanged in English with Singh remaining unsmiling not even making eye-contact with Sharif during the photo-op for the media.

With the talks happening in the backdrop of continued firings on the LoC, both sides appeared wary to make any commitments on key outstanding issues between the two countries whether on trade, Sir Creek, Siachen and Kashmir though, as Menon stated, these were discussed.

"Both sides want to have better relations with each other but we needed to address issues like ceasefire violations first" — Shiv Shankar Menon, National Security Adviser

"The main purpose of the meeting was to create a conducive environment to discuss and resolve all outstanding issues" — Jalil Abbas Jilani, Pakistan Foreign Secretary

Clearly the recent events had cast a shadow on the talks including the Jammu attacks, Manmohan Singh raising Pakistan’s lack of tough action to curb cross-border terrorism with Obama and the purported remarks of Sharif to a Pakistan TV journalist calling Manmohan a “dehati aurat” for doing that which saw Opposition leader Narendra Modi go to town with it before it was clarified that the remarks were quoted out of context. While denying that he said it, in his meeting with Manmohan, Nawaz is said to have offered to apologise if it hurt the PM’s sentiment

Rahul Gandhi’s outburst against Manmohan Singh’s decision to promulgate an ordinance to overrule a Supreme Court decision on convicted politicians also seemed to have had an impact in reducing Sharif’s enthusiasm of making “a new beginning” with India. Sharif was to announce a trade liberalisation regime, including giving India Most Favoured Nation status, but decided against doing so apparently because he felt it may be better to wait till the outcome of the 2014 General Election in India. To a specific question by The Tribune on carrying forward the unfinished agenda of trade, Menon said, “Trade issues were discussed but it was decided to first tackle the immediate issue of tranquillity on the border before moving forward on the others.”

In the meeting, Manmohan Singh emphasised the need to take effective action against terror and that India looked forward to speedy progress on the trial in Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack to book. Sharif outlined the steps his government had taken including sending a judicial commission recently in Mumbai to collect evidence and cross-examine witnesses. Sharif also said that Pakistan was a victim of terrorism describing the recent attacks in his country.

Sharif extended an invitation to Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan and the PM reciprocated by inviting him to visit India. But India made it clear that unless tranquility was restored on the LoC there would be no resumption of the dialogue process. Menon stated that no dates were fixed for the next meeting and that “peace on the LoC” was a precondition for improvement in ties.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh were also present at the meeting. From Pakistani side, Sharif’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz was among those who attended the meeting.