India, Pak Foreign Secretaries meet in Thimphu on Sunday

Ajay Kaul Thimphu, Feb 5 (PTI) Six months after failure of
talks, India and Pakistan will make a fresh attempt to
"unlock" the bilateral dialogue process when Foreign Secretary
Nirupama Rao and her counterpart Salman Bashir meet here
on Sunday during which the Indian side is expected to seek an
update on 26/11 probe and trial.
On the eve of the talks, Pakistan sought to link the
Samjhauta Express blast case to the Mumbai attack trial but
this was promptly rejected by India.
Pakistan said India "needs to bridge the gap between
what it says and what it does" juxtaposing New Delhi's slow
handling of the 2007 Samjhauta blast case with its insistence
on a quick trial for the Mumbai attack accused.
India hit back, saying the two cases were not
comparable, and there were clear leads in the Mumbai incident
unlike in the cross-border train attack case.
India is going for the "exploratory" talks with
"cautious optimism" and "reasonable expectations" and
expressed its willingness to discuss all outstanding issues
with Pakistan, but by a step-by-step approach.
Rao and Bashir, who are here for the SAARC meeting of
Foreign Secretaries and Council of Ministers, are expected to
discuss the problem of terrorism that is plaguing the
relationship, besides some confidence-building initiatives
concerning fishermen, people-to-people contacts and trade and
commerce.
This will be the first meeting between the Foreign
Secretaries since the last one in Pakistan in July last year
which ended in a failure.
"Our attempt is to unlock the dialogue process and find
the right path to move ahead," sources said here on Saturday
while pointing out that India has been trying so even after
the Mumbai attacks.
Pakistan gave clear indications on Saturday that it
will rake up the Samjhauta issue in the meeting.
The Indian side said it is ready for this but it does
not want to pre-judge whether it would upset the talks. India
is also expecting Pakistan to raise the Kashmir issue.
On its part, India would strongly take up the issue of
cross-border terrorism and seek an update on the Mumbai
attacks case and efforts, if any, made by Pakistan to
dismantle the terror infrastructure.
"During a dialogue, both sides raise the issues of
concern to them. Surely, Pakistan will raise issues that
concern it, we will raise issues that concern us," the sources
said.
They made it clear that India, as declared by Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh, is willing to discuss all outstanding
issues with Pakistan in a step-by-step manner if its concerns
on terrorism are addressed.
"We are clear that dialogue is the best way forward.
So we need to engage Pakistan and we are doing so," the
sources said.
The meeting could decide on the dates for the India
visit of Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi who
has accepted the invitation extended by External Affairs
Minister S M Krishna. Qureshi has so far refused to visit
India unless there is an assurance of "result-oriented" talks.
The sources noted that there are a number of "doables"
and these were proposed at the Foreign Ministerial meeting in
Pakistan in July. Islamabad, however, had adopted the "all or
nothing approach," they said.
Seeking to play down expectations from the Sunday's
meeting, the sources said "one meeting of the Foreign
Secretaries is not going to lead to solutions". It, however,
could pave the way for solutions.
India is approaching the talks, which are basically
"exploratory" in nature, with "cautious optimism", the sources
said, hoping Pakistan would also move in with the same spirit.
Even after the failed July talks, the two sides have
been maintaining contacts through diplomatic channels and
their leaders have met on the sidelines of some multilateral
events.
The resumption of full-fledged dialogue, which was
stalled after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, would, however, depend
on the progress by Pakistan to punish all those behind the
26/11 strikes, the sources said.
India is of the view that Pakistan could have done
more on this front, particularly in bringing to book the
perpetrators of 26/11 attacks.
At the meeting, Rao is expected to seek an
update from Bashir on the investigations and trial in the
Mumbai attacks case in Pakistan.
She is also expected to seek a response from Bashir on
India's request for voice samples of the persons in Pakistan
who were heard coordinating the 26/11 attacks.
Setting the tone for the meeting, Rao said on Friday
in Delhi, "We hope that both the governments come to
satisfactory conclusion about what is required so that the
trial could be satisfactorily concluded because justice has to
be done".
She made the comments after meeting Home Minister P
Chidambaram during which they are understood to have discussed
issues related to the Mumbai attacks.
Noting that 26/11 trial in Pakistan was "one of the
issues under discussion between the two governments,
particularly between the interior ministry of Pakistan and our
home ministry", she said New Delhi and Islamabad have been in
correspondence about the exchange of evidence that is required
for the trial to go forward after the meeting of the ministers
in last June.
On her meeting with Bashir, she said India will see
how it can pick up the thread once again.
"We are going to meet after a certain interregnum, a
few months after last meeting. So, we will see how we can pick
up the thread once again. I am sure we will exchange ideas.
Let's hope that we would be able to pick up convergence of
views. Every such meeting is an attempt to build greater
comprehension of each other's position and deeper
understanding," the foreign secretary said.
India is of the view that the meeting between the
Foreign Secretaries would be exploratory in nature, aimed at
unlocking the process of dialogue.
India feels that before the two countries agree on
resuming the full-fledged dialogue, the two sides should take
steps in the fields which affect common people directly. In
this context, India wants to discuss issues related to visa,
fishermen and trade and commerce.