South Asia’s two nuclear neighbours, India and Pakistan, met on the sidelines of the 15th South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Colombo yesterday and discussed recent incidents that had strained their relations.
The July 7 terrorist attack on the Indian Embassy in the Afghan capital of Kabul and the ceasefire violations across the Line of Control in the disputed territory of Kashmir were issues Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised with his Pakistan counterpart Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani during the 45-minute meeting at the Taj Samudra Hotel, India’s Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon told journalists.
The meeting between the two leaders is the first since a new government was formed in Pakistan in March this year.
Both India and Afghanistan have blamed Pakistan’s Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) agency for the Kabul attack which killed more than 50 people, including two Indian diplomats.
India has also accused Pakistani troops of violating the ceasefire across the Line of Control in Kashmir, claiming that one Indian soldier had been killed and four were wounded in an exchange of fire.Mr. Menon said Prime Minister Gilani had assured that Pakistan would launch an investigation into the Kabul bombing.
He said Dr. Singh was curt when he told his Pakistan counterpart that unless “such attacks” were stopped, it was not possible to rebuild the strained ties.
Mr. Menon said “for the past four years we have been working to normalize relations with Pakistan. But recent events have cast a shadow. However, there is determination on both sides to move forward beyond the recent incidents and work towards a return to the track.”
Prime Minister Gilani told journalists after he met Dr. Sing that he would take up the issue of Indian embassy bombing in his meeting with Afghan President Karzai today and ask him to give proofs of Pakistan’s alleged involvement.
Mr. Gilani noted that Afghan authorities had alleged Pakistan’s involvement in the attack within one hour of the blast.
He said Pakistan wanted cordial relations with both its neighbours -- India and Afghanistan-- and that was why he met the Indian Prime minister yesterday and would be meeting Karzai today.
“It is for the politicians to remove misunderstandings …. It is for them to make bridges and not walls,” Mr. Gilani said. He said it was for the politicians to resolve any issues which might come in the way of bilateral relations. Answering a question regarding bomb blasts in Indian cities of Ahmedabad and Bangalore, he said Dr. Singh had told him that India had not blamed Pakistan for its involvement in these incidents. Mr. Gilani reiterated that Pakistan wanted to resolve all issues including Kashmir by removing one another’s apprehensions. About the firing across the Line of Control, he said the two countries had an understanding that there would be a cease-fire on the LoC. But there had been some incidents “which we will look into.”
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