NSA meet: India talks tough with Pak

Written by Writer on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

NSA meet: India talks tough with Pak

NEW DELHI: On the first day of talks between national security adviser M K Narayanan and his Pakistani counterpart Mahmud Ali Durrani, India laid out a tough line on the ceasefire violations on the LoC and the bombing of its embassy in Kabul.

The first day of the meeting with Narayanan were along predicted lines, said sources. Durrani will have another long session with foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee and foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon and call on PM Manmohan Singh.

According to sources, the talks with the NSA focused on the ceasefire violations by Pakistan and rise in infiltration. India wants the LoC to be quiet before the state elections in J&K. The recent conflagration in the state had a lot to do with incitement from across the border, sources said.

The government doesn’t want that to happen again before the elections, because holding elections in J&K is key. According to Indian figures, Pakistani troops have violated ceasefire 37 times this year since January.

The Kabul bombing and ISI’s role in it was also discussed, said sources. India was hit very badly, though the government refrained from unnecessary rhetoric against Pakistan. In fact, US government officials have been more forthcoming about ISI’s role in the bomb blasts.

Before the talks started, Menon told reporters, “We will discuss all the issues that concern us. Naturally, that includes what happened in Kabul, that includes the situation in terms of maintaining the ceasefire. We will do that.”

He added, “Mr Durrani is an old friend. We have known him before. We know him and he has an interest in Indo-Pak relations for quite some years. Let us see what we can take forward.”

India and Pakistan will also set up another meeting of the joint anti-terror mechanism which was decided during the PM’s meeting last month. The tentative date for that meeting was supposed to be in October, though no dates are yet forthcoming.

“You have seen the joint statement and the determination to do something about these issues that affect us all,” Menon said while referring to the outcome of the meeting between Singh and Zardari.

India has been asking Pakistan to fulfil its promise of not allowing territories under its control for anti-India activities to facilitate forward movement in bilateral ties which have gone through “difficult times” recently.

In turn, Pakistan is expected to focus on the primacy of water and India keeping its commitment of not cutting off water to Pakistan.