May 11: External affairs minister S.M. Krishna has indicated that terror would form part of the dialogue between India and Pakistan when he meets his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad a little over two months from now.
Speaking on board the aircraft flying him to the Kazakh capital of Astana on Tuesday for bilateral talks between the two countries, the foreign minister said: “The Thimpu spirit is that we discuss everything and there are no issues that are to be kept outside.” Mr Krishna added, “I’m sure that Pakistan shares this concern of ours.”
While Islamabad in the past has assured that it would address India’a concerns on terror emanating from its soil, New Delhi has been looking for some substantial steps in this regard. For instance, it has not only been seeking a swift trial of the seven accused in 26/11 currently undergoing trial in Pakistan but also their punishment.
As for a recent suggestion by Finland’s foreign minister Alexander Stubb on third-party mediation to resolve the Kashmir issue, the external affairs minister remarked: “We have rejected third-party mediation any number of times. When we are talking to Pakistan directly, where does the question of third party mediation arise?”
Mr Krishna said this some hours after a telephonic conversation with Mr Qureshi while in New Delhi during the latter extended an invite to the Indian foreign minister to come for a meeting to Islamabad on July 15.
The foreign minister’s meeting follows the one between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart, Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the Saarc summit in Thimpu late last month.
The forthcoming talks between the two foreign ministers are being viewed as a significant step forward in relations between the two neighbours that had seen a marked chill post 26/11. Terror has been of even greater concern for India vis-à-vis Pakistan ever since the Mumbai terror attacks which also saw an end to the composite dialogue process between the two countries and a downswing in their bilateral relations.
During the Thimpu meeting, the PM in fact had emphasised the that for any engagement with Pakistan, Islamabad needs to act against terrorism. He is also reported to have taken note of the “trust deficit” between India and Pakistan. However, with Mr Qureshi stating today in Islamabad that this trust deficit would be bridged, India possibly has something to look forward to.