India and Pakistan on Wednesday pressed ahead with their peace engagement, steering around contentious issues -- particularly Jammu and Kashmir and terrorism -- that bedevil their ties.
Erasing the scars of last July, when their foreign ministers clashed in full public view in Islamabad, India and Pakistan on Wednesday managed the rare feat of speaking in one voice. They agreed to invest in a relationship of "trust and mutually beneficial cooperation".
It wasn`t easy given differences over the usual stumbling blocks that cropped up during the meeting between foreign minister S M Krishna (78), and his young counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar (34), but the two sides worked around them successfully enough for foreign secretary Nirupama Rao to later declare that the "fog has now lifted'' over the relationship.
Khar too raised hopes when she described the relationship as entering a new era and stated that the mindset of people in both the countries had changed, allowing ties to move in the right direction. In terms of deliverables, a number of CBMs to enhance cross-LoC trade and travel were announced.
"It is our desire to make the dialogue process uninterrupted and uninterruptible," Khar said after the meeting, summing up the determination to stay engaged. The restraint was evident at the press conference of the two foreign secretaries where neither rose to the bait of provocative questions.
Talks did not start on a very promising note though. The meeting started with Krishna strongly expressing displeasure to the Pakistani delegation over Khar`s meeting with separatist Hurriyat leaders on Tuesday evening ahead of the official talks.
Krishna wanted to know what was the locus standi of the Hurriyat as they were not representative of the people of India. He also took exception to the press statement Pakistan High Commission issued after the meeting with separatists.
Khar promptly assured Krishna that she did not intend to give offence to India.
The two sides did not let the issue overshadow talks even in public. Rao confirmed that India had expressed concern over the meeting and that it reflected divergences. "We have a different point of view from Pakistan on the meeting and we have expressed our concern frankly and candidly," she said. But she also emphasized that the neighbours had the political will to work together.
Rao`s counterpart Salman Bashir also spoke in a conciliatory vein. He said the meeting with Hurriyat should not be construed as an attempt to cast shadow over the talks, adding that Pakistan`s intention was to reach out in the interest of democratic polity.
Sources said the Pakistanis chose not to be prickly also when Krishna forcefully raised the lack of credible effort to punish the 26/11 masterminds, and continuing hate propaganda against India by the sorts of Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed.
"We have made attempts to infuse the dialogue with the Thimphu spirit," Rao said referring to the meeting between PM Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani in Bhutan last year when they paved the way for re-engagement.
Krishna also raised the confessions made by Pakistani-American Lashkar operative David Headley during the trial of another accused Tahawwur Rana in Chicago about the role of ISI but the Pakistanis quickly assured that they would investigate the matter.
Terror and J&K were discussed at length and this manifested itself in the joint statement which called for eliminating terror in all its forms and, on J&K, spoke of finding a "peaceful solution by narrowing divergences and building convergences". They also agreed for a continued discussion on J&K in a purposeful and forward-looking manner.
Rao said there was "cautious optimism" in India-Pak relations. Krishna stated that things were "on the right track". The two foreign ministers decided to meet again in the first half of 2012. "This is indeed a new era of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, and it is our desire... to make it an uninterrupted and an uninterruptible process," Khar said.
"There has been a mindset change in the people of the two countries that we must acknowledge," she added. Khar showed remarkable maturity for her age when during the joint press briefing after the talks, she resisted all temptations to play to the gallery by mentioning the K-word even though it figured prominently in the joint statement.
Bashir too said after the talks that the two countries needed to make a conscious effort to be respectful to each other to maintain the momentum and ensure deeper level of engagement. "Either of us should not seek advantage over the other as we go for a deeper level of engagement. It is also not appropriate to read into what is said and what is not. We have to understand that this is a work in progress," said Bashir.
After the talks, when asked if the Hurriyat meeting was an attempt to establish "parallel" structures in the bilateral relationship, Rao said as far as India was concerned, there was only a "bilateral structure" between the two governments to address all issues. Hurriyat leaders had insisted before Khar in the meeting on Tuesday that Kashmiris too be made a part of the dialogue between India and Pakistan.
Erasing the scars of last July, when their foreign ministers clashed in full public view in Islamabad, India and Pakistan on Wednesday managed the rare feat of speaking in one voice. They agreed to invest in a relationship of "trust and mutually beneficial cooperation".
It wasn`t easy given differences over the usual stumbling blocks that cropped up during the meeting between foreign minister S M Krishna (78), and his young counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar (34), but the two sides worked around them successfully enough for foreign secretary Nirupama Rao to later declare that the "fog has now lifted'' over the relationship.
Khar too raised hopes when she described the relationship as entering a new era and stated that the mindset of people in both the countries had changed, allowing ties to move in the right direction. In terms of deliverables, a number of CBMs to enhance cross-LoC trade and travel were announced.
"It is our desire to make the dialogue process uninterrupted and uninterruptible," Khar said after the meeting, summing up the determination to stay engaged. The restraint was evident at the press conference of the two foreign secretaries where neither rose to the bait of provocative questions.
Talks did not start on a very promising note though. The meeting started with Krishna strongly expressing displeasure to the Pakistani delegation over Khar`s meeting with separatist Hurriyat leaders on Tuesday evening ahead of the official talks.
Khar promptly assured Krishna that she did not intend to give offence to India.
The two sides did not let the issue overshadow talks even in public. Rao confirmed that India had expressed concern over the meeting and that it reflected divergences. "We have a different point of view from Pakistan on the meeting and we have expressed our concern frankly and candidly," she said. But she also emphasized that the neighbours had the political will to work together.
Rao`s counterpart Salman Bashir also spoke in a conciliatory vein. He said the meeting with Hurriyat should not be construed as an attempt to cast shadow over the talks, adding that Pakistan`s intention was to reach out in the interest of democratic polity.
Sources said the Pakistanis chose not to be prickly also when Krishna forcefully raised the lack of credible effort to punish the 26/11 masterminds, and continuing hate propaganda against India by the sorts of Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed.
"We have made attempts to infuse the dialogue with the Thimphu spirit," Rao said referring to the meeting between PM Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani in Bhutan last year when they paved the way for re-engagement.
Krishna also raised the confessions made by Pakistani-American Lashkar operative David Headley during the trial of another accused Tahawwur Rana in Chicago about the role of ISI but the Pakistanis quickly assured that they would investigate the matter.
Terror and J&K were discussed at length and this manifested itself in the joint statement which called for eliminating terror in all its forms and, on J&K, spoke of finding a "peaceful solution by narrowing divergences and building convergences". They also agreed for a continued discussion on J&K in a purposeful and forward-looking manner.
Rao said there was "cautious optimism" in India-Pak relations. Krishna stated that things were "on the right track". The two foreign ministers decided to meet again in the first half of 2012. "This is indeed a new era of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, and it is our desire... to make it an uninterrupted and an uninterruptible process," Khar said.
"There has been a mindset change in the people of the two countries that we must acknowledge," she added. Khar showed remarkable maturity for her age when during the joint press briefing after the talks, she resisted all temptations to play to the gallery by mentioning the K-word even though it figured prominently in the joint statement.
Bashir too said after the talks that the two countries needed to make a conscious effort to be respectful to each other to maintain the momentum and ensure deeper level of engagement. "Either of us should not seek advantage over the other as we go for a deeper level of engagement. It is also not appropriate to read into what is said and what is not. We have to understand that this is a work in progress," said Bashir.
After the talks, when asked if the Hurriyat meeting was an attempt to establish "parallel" structures in the bilateral relationship, Rao said as far as India was concerned, there was only a "bilateral structure" between the two governments to address all issues. Hurriyat leaders had insisted before Khar in the meeting on Tuesday that Kashmiris too be made a part of the dialogue between India and Pakistan.
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