Pak Foreign Secretary arrives for talks with Nirupama Rao

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir along with his delegation arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday evening for the Foreign Secretary-level talks to be held on Thursday.

Expressing his delight to be back again in India, Bashir said the purpose of his visit is to bridge differences between India and Pakistan. He expressed the hope “for a positive outcome."

A private channel quoted Bashir as saying that "Pakistan has no fixed agenda. Just looking for a way forward for the talks." Bashir also said that he would discuss any issue, including terror. In a statement on Bashir's arrival, the External affairs ministry said during his stay, the Pakistani foreign secretary is also scheduled to call on minister S M Krishna and National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon.

Bashir has come at the invitation of Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who had proposed February 18 or February 25 as tentative dates for the talks, during her meeting with Pakistan High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik. Pakistan agreed to February 25.

Speaking in Beijing on Wednesday, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi termed the February 25 Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan as an 'exploratory' meeting and Islamabad wants a meaningful dialogue with New Delhi. Qureshi said all issues confronting both countries must come up for discussions during the New Delhi talks.

"After 14 months, they have re-engaged with us and have invited us for a dialogue. Pakistan wants a dialogue with India, but we want a meaningful dialogue. We want that all issues of concern to both sides should be brought on the table so that the dialogue is serious and meaningful," The News quoted Qureshi, as saying.

Qureshi said the ball is now India's court, and the outcome the talks would largely depend on its approach. "We have to see what comes out of the meeting on February 25.Pakistan is showing a constructive approach and if India also exhibits the same spirit obviously there will be progress," the Foreign Minister stated.

The first official talks with India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks may be cordial one, but no major breakthrough is expected by analysts, given the different perceptions of the two countries on issues of terror, Kashmir and river water sharing. Bashir and Nirupama Rao will have closed door talks on Thursday.

India decided to resume talks after judging that Pakistan had taken some steps to address concerns about militant groups operating on its side of the border. A senior government official was quoted as saying: "India is going into talks with an open mind, but is fully conscious of limitations imposed by (the) trust deficit post-Mumbai attacks." The two sides will not issue a joint statement, indicating a divergence of opinion was more likely. India will take up the issue of the recent beheading of two Sikhs in Peshawar during the talks between the foreign secretaries.

India on Tuesday had summarily rejected suggestions of any third-party mediation in its talks with Pakistan, holding that China or any other country had no role to play in Indo-Pak bilateral relations. "We don't favour involvement of any third country in our talks with Pakistan. It will only be bilateral,'' said Defence minister A K Antony, on being asked about Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehood Qureshi's statement that Beijing has a "blank cheque'' from Islamabad's side to play a role in improving Indo-Pak ties.

- Asian Tribune -