New Delhi, Feb. 4: Ending weeks of suspense, India unofficially indicated on Thursday that reopening the door for dialogue with Pakistan was a distinct possibility. But no details are yet available about dates or the contours of the talks should it commence.

Informed sources here hinted that India would host the renewed conversation in New Delhi. Sources went so far as to suggest that Pakistan foreign secretary Salman Bashir had been invited.

Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomed the development. "We have asked the high commissioner in Delhi to get in touch with the foreign office to discuss the format, the agenda and all the details. Once they are in front of us, we would be in better position (to comment on the issue)," Mr Qureshi told a Pakistani TV channel. A report in a section of the Pakistani media cited Mr Abdul Basit, the Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman, as saying the Pakistani side was seeking clarification from India about the agenda of the suggested talks.

"They have proposed foreign secretary-level talks and we have sought a clarification on the contents of the proposed talks. We are awaiting India’s response," Mr Basit said. A window for the foreign secretary-level talks could be any time between Union home minister P. Chidambaram’s visit to Pakistan for the Saarc home/interior ministers’ meeting in Rawalpindi on February 26 and 27 and the Saarc Summit in Bhutan in April.

But it should come as no surprise if the foreign secretaries get together for a discussion even before Mr Chidambaram’s visit to Pakistan if the two sides can come to an early agreement on the sequencing of steps.

Sources here maintained that all issues would be on the table during the talks but the discussions would essentially focus on counter-terrorism. This is what external affairs minister S.M. Krishna told journalists here on Tuesday.

However, Mr Basit told Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper that "no format of engagement other than composite dialogue will be acceptable to us". His comments were explained away by a knowledgeable source here, who maintained that the Pakistan spokesman’s comments preceded the new development.

Even unofficially, India is not making it clear whether the full range of issues it has in mind amounts to "composite dialogue". The sources are only ready to say that India will go in for the talks with an open mind. Counter-terrorism and any other issue that can promote peace and stability will be open for discussion.

The cat-and-mouse game about the dates and agenda suggests that the choreography of renewing negotiations is yet to be worked out by both sides although they appear to want

to begin reworking of ties after the Sharm el-Sheikh episode in July 2009. It is likely that both sides will have to come to an understanding about the format of the talks before they can officially acknowledge that the first step in reversing the stalemate has been taken. The part of the Sharm el-Sheikh joint statement, which created an uproar in India, said "action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed".

The composite dialogue is a structured process through which the two sides look at all outstanding issues. It comprises the eight issues of peace and security, including confidence-building measures; Jammu and Kashmir; Siachen; Sir Creek; Wullar Barrage/ Tulbul navigation project; terrorism and drug trafficking; economic and commercial cooperation; and promotion of friendly exchanges in various fields.

India and Pakistan have concluded four rounds of the composite dialogue since its inception in 1998. The fifth round was suspended after the Mumbai attacks.

The dialogue had been disrupted after Kargil in 1999. In December 2001 came the Parliament attack. The process resumed only in January 2004 after President Pervez Musharraf gave the categorical assurance that Pakistan territory will not be used for terrorist strikes against India. This was the assurance India cited after the 26/11 attack.

The composite dialogue process was again jolted following the Mumbai train blasts in 2006. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Musharraf met in Cuba on the margins of the NAM Summit held in September that year to recommence the structured dialogue and also formally announce the creation of a joint anti-terror mechanism, which

never did really take off.

Ramesh Ramachandran