NEW YORK: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, who met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Sunday, agreed to ensure a ceasefire at the Line of Control (LoC).
The ‘ground-breaking’ meeting of the top political leaders of the two countries continued beyond their expected schedule and lasted for more than an hour at the Palace Hotel where the Indian prime minister acted as host. Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Syed Jalil Abbas Jilani and Indian Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Shiv Shankar Menon briefed the media separately and gave almost an identical impression of what transpired in the meeting. The breakfast meeting was converted into full-fledged talks as narrated by the Indian media.
Foreign Secretary Syed Jalil Abbas Jilani said the two prime ministershad “extremely positive” talks as they expressed the willingness and commitment to improving bilateral relations.
He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called for the resolution of all outstanding issues including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, foreign interference in Balochistan, Siachen, Sir Creek and water issues.
“The prime minister emphasised that the resolution of all issues including Jammu and Kashmir is certainly imperative to bring peace and security to the region,” the foreign secretary told the international media.
Discussing the recent tensions along the LoC in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region, the top Pakistani careerdiplomat confirmed that the two sides agreed to establish a mechanism “not only to investigate such unfortunate incidents but also to ensure that there is no recurrence of such incidents.” Nawaz Sharif underscored that there was “no option but to have a sustained dialogue” between the two countries.
He believed that the two countries could prosper while making movement on issues which had adversely affected relations, the foreign secretary added. Jilani said Nawaz and Singh exchanged invitations to visit their respective countries.
The foreign secretary said that the question of terrorism certainly was also discussed. “Terrorism is as much a concern for Pakistan as of India. We are aware of Indian concerns and our concerns (on the issue of terrorism) are also well known to the Indian side,” he said.
The foreign secretary stressed that Islamabad took all decisions under the leadership of the prime minister. “Let me emphasise all institutions are on the same page.” On the question of the alleged funding sources of banned organisations like the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, there is a lot of misunderstanding going on, he said.
In compliance with the UN Security Council’s sanctions, the Punjab government had taken control of all the institutions run by the now defunct outfit, he said. He noted that a UN monitoring team had expressed full confidence in the way the taken-over institutions were being run now, he said.
With regard to the Mumbai 2008 bombing trial, he pointed out that progress on the case was slowed down because of the delay in the visit of the Pakistani Judicial Commission to India. Now that the Commission had returned after interviewing and cross-examining witnesses, it would present the findings to the court and the trial would proceed ahead.
“Kashmir is an important issue that needs to be resolved,” he said. “There is no alternative to a sustained and uninterrupted dialogue between the two countries,” he emphasised.
As regards the Indian media alleging that the prime minister had used the word “Dehati Aurat” in reference to Manmohan Singh’s complaint to the US president, the foreign secretary said the Pakistani leader did not use that term. Actually, the Indian media representative had also clarified that, Jilani said.
He noted that India described the meeting between the prime ministers as “constructive and useful”.Earlier, Indian National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon told reporters: “Both the leaders agreed that the precondition for forward movement in the relationship, which they both desire, is really an improvement on the situation at the LoC.”
He said the two leaders accepted invitations to visit the other country but no time had been set for the visits. “Peace and tranquility at the Line of Control (LoC) is a pre-requisite for any progress in the stalled peace process between the two nations,” Menon added. He said Nawaz raised the issues of Siachen and Sir Creek. He said the two leaders decided to task their respective DGMOs to suggest effective means to enforce a ceasefire in the Kashmir region.
Nawaz’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz, Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar, Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi, Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani and Pakistan’s Permanent Representative (PR) in the United Nations Ambassador Masood Khan assisted him in the talks. The Indian delegation included Minister for External Affairs Salman Khursheed, National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Sujata Singh.
The Indian NSA said that the two leaders reviewed the state of relations and discussed what steps are necessary to go forward. India also brought up the issue of bringing justice to the Mumbai 2008 bombing perpetrators.
Menon told journalists that Pakistan said it intended to follow the case now that the judicial commission is back from India. Balochistan was also mentioned in the meeting, he said, adding there is no question of India interfering in Pakistan’s internal affairs. “My impression (is that) it was a useful and constructive meeting,” he said.
“We need to fix the issues first in order to move forward,” he said. “We can work hard in the next few months,” he said, when pressed if the two sides discussed specific steps that could help the revival of the composite dialogue and the peace process. “Today, we have to deal with the overwhelming issue on the LoC; we dealt with the immediate task (of addressing issues),” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment