Source: The Hindu
Sandeep Dikshit

“Ready to discuss Balochistan as we have a clear conscience”

NEW DELHI: Having started a “limited dialogue,” India was not keen on meeting the Pakistani insistence that the composite dialogue be resumed, till it was convinced not only of Islamabad’s sincerity in taking action against the perpetrators of the previous attacks but also of its motivation to prevent attacks like the one that occurred in Mumbai, said South Block sources.

Even if the limited dialogue was to go beyond the Foreign Secretary-level talks, India would refrain from restarting the composite dialogue format because Pakistan had not kept its promise, made in January 2004, of dismantling the terrorist training infrastructure. “There have been attacks after attacks after that pledge,” the sources said.

Denying that Pakistan submitted any dossier on Indian involvement in Balochistan, they pointed out that the only paper given by Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir on the night of July 14 at Sharm-el-Sheikh (Egypt) was titled “After the attacks in Mumbai.” It was a “bland” listing of the actions taken by Islamabad to “make it look that it had worked hard.”

On the India-Pakistan joint statement uncoupling the composite dialogue from action taken against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks, India felt this would ensure that action against terrorism was not held hostage to the composite dialogue. In future, Pakistan could not say because there was no composite dialogue no action could be taken.

“The fact is that it [joint statement] was drafted in bits and pieces. It was supposed to be reflective of what was discussed and since Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani had mentioned Balochistan we had no problem in leaving it in. We would be happy to discuss Balochistan because we have clean hands and a clear conscience,” the sources maintained.

On the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Agency chief Shuja Pasha’s offer to negotiate with India, they said India would tread carefully. “It is not the man but the institution. ISI is an important part of the Pakistani establishment but it is also the source of trouble for India. We will have to look at this offer carefully because the noise to signal ratio in Pakistan is very high.”