120 Whither Kashmir? (Part II) - Islamabad Policy Research Institute

60 IPRI Factfile
all the stakeholders including the various political parties and the military
leadership, as well as the representatives of AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan
governments, consulted? Were friends like China and other states in the
Middle East and Central Asia, who are stakeholders in the future of this
region, taken into confidence? Unfortunately, nothing is clear except that
even Parliament was not consulted.
Above all, the statements made by our Foreign Secretary Salman
Bashir before his departure, painting a rosy picture as a result of the
expected dialogue, was really surprising. He ought to have known -
exactly - the nature of the hot soup awaiting at the Hyderabad House
luncheon. Then on his return, Mr Bashir’s stated: “India must change its
perception about Pakistan,” adding that, “Islamabad was not desperate for
pursuing meaningless and cosmetic dialogue. We have made it clear to
India that terrorism is an international challenge and it should not be
portrayed as only Pakistan’s problem.” I wish our foreign secretary
would have made such sentiments crystal clear to New Delhi before
proceeding on a thoughtless joy ride to Delhi.
It seems that Pakistan has learnt no lessons from past negotiations
with India. But it is never too late.
Ikramullah, The Nation (Islamabad), March 7, 2010.
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-englishonline/Opinions/Columns/07-Mar-2010/Conflicting-perceptions
INDIAN TACTICS ARE UNCHANGED
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmud Qureshi’s remark at his Press conference
in Multan recently that Pakistan wants ‘result oriented and purposeful
dialogue’ with India to resolve the outstanding issues, but ‘it’s not in
hurry and can wait for meaningful dialogue’ seemingly represents
Pakistan’s understanding of the Indian tactics on the issue of dialogue
process between the two countries. He said that Foreign Secretary Salman
Bashir, who visited India last month on Indian invitation, presented
Pakistan’s point of view on all issues including Kashmir and water,
besides highlighting its position on the dialogue process. The issue of
terrorism was also discussed, he added.
A cursory look at the history of Pak-India ties reveals the bitter
truth that the Indian government has ridiculed Pakistani leadership again
and again over its anxiety for resumption of the ‘composite dialogue’
between the two countries. It has persisted with the ‘blow hot blow cold’