The talks between the Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and India at Thimpu, Bhutan in the first week of February 2011 have been held in cordial atmosphere and both sides now look forward to resuming dialogue on different contentious issues. Pakistan Foreign Minister is likely to undertake his visit to India in March and April this year, which is likely to yield more positive results for the two nations. After showing its traditional intransigence New Delhi has finally expressed its willingness to discuss all issues including the disputed issue of Jammu and Kashmir even though it continues to harbour reservations about the resurrection of the format of composite dialogue process, which obliged the two countries simultaneously to confront all contentious issues. The Foreign Secretaries had useful and frank discussions on the steps required, they agreed on the need for a constructive dialogue to take forward the dialogue process. They will brief their respective governments on their discussions,” said Indian Foreign Office Joint Secretary Vishnu Prakash, after the Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan in Thimpu on February 06, 2011. The officials are seeking to create a second Thimphu spirit. The first thaw took place at the same venue in April last year when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani directed their Foreign Offices to reduce the trust deficit and agree on deliverables. Pakistan, as was the case last time, insisted on resuming the composite dialogue, while India said it is not shy of discussing outstanding issues. However, New Delhi felt that instead of taking up all issues, both sides should select only some on which agreements could be reached. There should not be any time line, said India, in response to Pakistan's desire for a result-oriented approach. This time, India also seems inclined to follow US President Barack Obama's guideline on the talks: that is, start with less contentious issues and progress towards more complicated ones. “It is a ladder, we have to climb,” said the Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao in her description of the kind of process New Delhi was willing to follow. She said the talks would have to follow a sequence. “The things, which need to be done quickly, will be done first. The things, which need more preparation will be done a little later,” she added. This basically would mean that there is little shift in the approach of Indian government towards the dialogue with Islamabad. New Delhi will continue to privilege discussion of terror over the issue of Kashmir, which it wants to tackle later in the process. “We are resuming our contact after interregnum of some time. We have a number of issues to be discussed. As we have always said, dialogue between India and Pakistan is necessary and a must if we are to satisfactorily resolve the outstanding issues between our two countries,” said Ms. Rao after the talks. “We have a number of outstanding issues. So, we are going into this with an open mind and constructive attitude,” she added. Pakistan, on its part, has sought to be posted with information about the ongoing investigations into Samjhauta Express blast, which killed scores of innocent Pakistanis. If one recalls the history, Samjhauta Express bombings were a terrorist attack that occurred around midnight on 18 February 2007 on the Samjhauta Express, a twice-weekly train service connecting Delhi, India, and Lahore, Pakistan. Bombs were set off in two carriages, both filled with passengers, just after the train passed Diwana station near the Indian city of Panipat, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of New Delhi. Sixty-eight people were killed in the ensuing fire and dozens more were injured. Investigators subsequently found evidence of suitcases with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and flammable material, including three undetonated IEDs. Inside one of the suitcases containing the undetonated IEDs, a digital timer encased in transparent plastic was packed alongside a dozen plastic bottles containing fuel oils and chemicals. Both the Indian and Pakistani governments condemned the attack, and officials on both sides speculated that the perpetrators intended to disrupt improving relations between the two nations, since the attack came just a day before Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri was to arrive in New Delhi to resume peace talks with Indian leaders. There have been a number of breaks in the investigation of the bombings. As of 2011, nobody has been charged for the crime though it has been linked to Abhinav Bharat, a shadowy group headed by former army officer Prasad Shrikant Purohit. New Delhi has assured Islamabad of its cooperation in the matter. India now credits itself for unearthing the role of Hindu right wing in the blast after initial blame had been laid at the door of Muslim extremists, and cites it as an example of its transparent investigation process. Moreover, the details of this investigation are already in media and the process is on to unravel the entire conspiracy and bring the culprits with links to RSS to book. On the other hand, New Delhi is intent on slow-pedalling the efforts to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir issue. However, to get Pakistan to talk, New Delhi is ready to discuss Kashmir, but does not want the spotlight on the issue. The sustainability of the dialogue and its productivity obliges the two countries to engage without strict conditionalities, as is the case now. It is only when such an understanding has been reached that we can truly say that the talks between the two countries have resumed.
