Rivals India, Pakistan agree to “keep in touch”

The meeting also marks a tiny step in improving the outlook  for stability in Afghanistan, where India and Pakistan have  long battled for influence, complicating regional security, but  many obstacles remain.

The two nations’ top diplomats met in a former princely  palace in a heavily guarded New Delhi neighbourhood and agreed  to “remain in touch” to build trust with each other.

“We went into today’s talks with an open mind but fully  conscious of the limitations imposed by the large trust deficit  between the two countries,” Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama  Rao said after talks with her Pakistani counterpart, Salman  Bashir.

“In line with our graduated and step by step approach, our  aims were modest.”

Neither diplomat said if there would be a next round of  talks, though the prime ministers of the two countries have an  opportunity to meet at a regional summit in Bhutan in April.

Rao, wearing a black and red sari, and Bashir, in a dark  suit, shook hands in front of the cameras before walking into a  sprawling room for discussions.

The two countries did not appear to agree on which subjects  should be covered in the talks; India wanted to focus on  terrorism while Pakistan eyed the disputed Himalayan region of  Kashmir that has been the cause of two of their three wars.

“We don’t like to be sermoned on the issue of terrorism; we  know what it means,” Bashir said, adding 5,366 Pakistani  civilians had been killed in militant attacks since 2008.

“From Pakistan’s perspective the core issue that has  troubled Pakistan-India relations is the issue of Jammu and  Kashmir…and any effort to be dismissive of this issue will  not be healthy.”

Kashmir, which India and Pakistan claim in full but rule in  part, remains at the heart of their dispute. India accuses  Pakistan of abetting a 20-year revolt in Indian Kashmir.  Pakistan says it only gives moral support.

EVIDENCE HANDED OVER

Bashir also criticised India’s role in Afghanistan, saying  the country was being used to supply weapons and funds to  militants to destabilise Pakistan. New Delhi denies this.

India broke off talks after the Mumbai attacks, saying  dialogue could resume only if Pakistan acted against militants  on its soil. It blamed the attacks, which killed 166 people and  derailed a four-year-long peace process, on Pakistan-based  militants.

India handed three new dossiers of evidence to the  Pakistani delegation on Thursday, including one on Hafiz Saeed,  the rabble-rousing head of the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group  blamed for the Mumbai killings.

Bashir said he would look into the fresh dossiers, but  dismissed earlier evidence India supplied against Saeed as more  “literature than evidence”.

Re-engaging Pakistan was a politically fraught move for New  Delhi, given strong Indian public opinion against talks, but a  nudge from Washington and dwindling diplomatic options saw  India reaching out.

Expectations from the talks were modest.

“Nothing has come out of these talks, nothing was suppose  to come out,” political columnist Cho Ramaswamy said.

“Whether there is going to be another round of talks  depends on the amount of friendly pressure Americans put on  both sides.”

The talks in New Delhi come amid a foreboding sense in  India that the bombing of a popular bakery in the western city  of Pune this month, which killed at least 16 people, may herald  more attacks.

A second attack like Mumbai could shake what has so far  proved to be a resilient Indian economy.