Protocol least of India's worries, open to hosting Hina Rabbani Khar for talks with SM Krishna in July

Hina Rabbani Khar
* 34-year-old young politician
* went to the University of Massachusetts

* loves trekking

Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna

* 79-year-old veteran politician

* went to Southern Methodist University and George Washington Univ. Law School

* loves tennis

New Delhi

19 June 2011

India would not mind setting aside protocol to host Hina Rabbani Khar, the 34-year-old minister of state for foreign affairs of Pakistan, for talks with external affairs minister SM Krishna (79) in July.

Ms Khar assumed the position on February 1 this year and she has been heading the foreign ministry from February 13 onwards, two days after Shah Mehmood Qureshi was dropped as Pakistan's foreign minister.

A government source recalled that India had deputed Khurshed Alam Khan, a minister of state of external affairs, to travel to Islamabad in 1986 for talks with Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, the then foreign minister of Pakistan.

However, if certain Pakistani media reports are anything to go by, Ms Khar could be elevated to Cabinet rank in the coming weeks. In contrast, ironically, is the speculation in a section of the Indian media about whether Mr Krishna would retain the portfolio after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reshuffles his Cabinet soon.

Meanwhile, New Delhi has iterated that it will be seeking a satisfactory closure of the November 26, 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai when foreign secretary Nirupama Rao travels to Islamabad for talks with her Pakistani counterpart on June 23 and 24.

It described the foreign secretaries' talks as a process, not an event in itself, and as a means to reduce the trust deficit ahead of an eventual resolution of the outstanding issues dogging the two nations.

The cabinet committee on security met on Thursday to approve the scope and agenda of Ms Rao's meeting in Islamabad. Similarly, the Pakistani government is expected to firm up its agenda for the talks on Monday.

The foreign secretaries will discuss, among other issues, peace and security, including confidence building measures; Jammu and Kashmir; and promotion of friendly exchanges.

New Delhi has indicated that the talks would cover all issues of mutual concern and that Ms Rao can be expected to raise issues, including, but not limited to, the continuing threat posed by terrorism.

The Indian assertion came the day after the Pakistani foreign ministry's spokeswoman said that terrorism would not be a part of the agenda because matters relating to terrorism had already been discussed by the home secretaries.

India says peace talks with Pakistan will continue

New Delhi

4 May 2011

India has let it be known that the peace talks with Pakistan will continue as usual, and that the India-Pakistan narrative should be seen divorced from the killing of Osama bin Laden.

"[Osama's killing] does not change the universe of discourse" between India and Pakistan, an official source said, adding that the forthcoming official-level talks could be expected to proceed as per plan.

This newspaper had reported Tuesday that Prime Minister Singh was indeed likely to

stay the course in spite of pressure on him to reappraise his Pakistan initiative. In doing

so he would be guided by the desire not to fritter away the gains made in official and

unofficial (track-two) talks with Islamabad in recent years.

The source defended the government's position by saying that India had to engage

Pakistan in order to make any progress on issues such as trade, people-to-people

contacts, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Adopting a multi-pronged approach, India would look to strengthen the hands of

democratic forces and civil society in Pakistan even as it makes efforts at multilateral

levels to address the issue of terrorism directed against India.

Those efforts would involve proscribing, or naming and shaming, the terrorist groups by

the United Nations security council's "1267 committee", and expediting the process of

adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

On Pakistan foreign secretary Salman Bashir's comment that India's demand for action

against the 26/11 terrorists was "outdated", the source said "that cannot be a serious

statement."

Speaking in Islamabad, Bashir had said Tuesday, "It is a familiar line (and) outdated. It

is some part of the old system repeating itself[.] This line of thinking is mired in a

mindset that is neither realistic nor productive. Such statements are not very helpful [to

the peace process]."

India's Af-Pak policy comes under strain

New Delhi

3 May 2011

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's disengagement-is-not-an-option line came under increased strain Tuesday following Pakistan's unhelpful attitude on the issue of bringing the 26/11 perpetrators to justice.

Salman Bashir, Pakistan's foreign secretary, dismissed New Delhi's demand for action against the 26/11 terrorists, reiterated most recently by home minister P Chidambaram on Monday, as "outdated".

"It is a familiar line (and) outdated. It is some part of the old system repeating itself[.]

This line of thinking is mired in a mindset that is neither realistic nor productive. Such

statements are not very helpful [to the peace process]," Bashir said.

However, indications are that Prime Minister Singh was likely to stay the course in spite

of pressure on him to reappraise his Pakistan initiative and to craft an appropriate

Afghanistan strategy in the post-Osama bin Laden era.

There was a view in official circles that India must persist with the dialogue, if
it does not want to fritter away the gains made in official and unofficial (track-
two) talks with Islamabad, and if it wants the 'Mohali spirit' to survive.

The prime ministers of India and Pakistan would get at least two opportunities to re-engage each other, on the margins of the Saarc summit in Maldives in November this year, and on the sidelines of the July 2012 NAM summit in Iran.

A section of the official circles said that it became even imperative that New Delhi

brought diplomatic pressure to bear upon Islamabad, given its inability or reluctance to

mount covert operations inside Pakistan.

Also, it was pointed out that Prime Minister Singh need only take a cue from his British

counterpart, David Cameron, who said that the world must remain engaged with Pakistan

if only to strengthen the hands of the civilian government there.

Cameron had accused Pakistan of looking "both ways" on terrorism in July 2010, and his

words were only now finding a resonance in Washington and other world capitals

following Pakistan's alleged complicity in harbouring Osama bin Laden.