JULY 16- Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may finally break the ice at a date being planned for them in New York.
South Block sources say that diplomats from both sides are trying to work out the details of a meeting expected on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session at New York in September.
Islamabad has been pushing for an early meeting between the two leaders, and Sharif had recently sent his special envoy, Shahryar Khan, to meet the prime minister and other Indian leaders. Singh was invited afresh to visit Pakistan, and visit his native village Gah as well. Islamabad also indicated through Khan that some forward movement is likely on the issue of a Pakistan judicial commission visiting India in connection with the Mumbai attacks.
Opinion in New Delhi is still divided, however, on whether a meeting with Sharif at this stage would send out the right message, as Pakistan has not delivered on India’s core concerns of terrorism.
Among the key issues being debated in diplomatic exchanges is the timing and architecture of the meeting: whether there should be a full-scale structured meeting, or a first casual meeting should be followed by a structured dialogue.
If the meeting happens on schedule, it will be the first bilateral engagement between the two prime ministers.
Caution advised
While the Prime Minister’s Office is believed to be keen on a meeting, there are reservations in the Ministry of External Affairs, where a section of officials advises caution, reasoning that a business-as-usual message would be sent out by a rushed meeting.
The view in the MEA is that India should assess Pakistan’s commitment on issues like terrorism, on the 26/11 perpetrators, and even on trade, where the Most Favoured Nation status to India has not been granted yet despite an assurance by the Pakistan government.
“We have conveyed our concerns to Pakistan, and we are still preparing the ground for a meeting of the two prime ministers but we can’t say anything specific on the meeting,” a senior official told Mail Today.
Those in the diplomatic circuit privy to the discussions say that India wants “substantive” progress in relations before a visit to Pakistan despite the renewed invitation
The government is also given to think that Sharif, who spoke positively about reviving ties with India during his election campaign, will help put the derailed peace process back on track.
The option that is being discussed with the most energy now is that the prime minister should meet Sharif at a neutral venue, and if Pakistan is able to meet New Delhi’s milestones, Singh can visit Pakistan before the end of the year.
There are several factors, however, that will guide a meeting between the two leaders, given the fact that Congress is facing a belligerent Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Without any tangible takeaway, the Congress will not support a rushed meeting with the Pakistan Prime Minister as Modi and the BJP will use the opportunity to hit at the government for being soft on Pakistan.
Any terror attack from Pakistan will derail the process again and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will find it difficult to convince fencesitters in his government who have been advocating a go-slow policy on Pakistan.
MFN carrot
Sharif is unlikely to make any dramatic concessions to India on the issue of terrorism, and the progress on the 26/11 trial may not yield much, but there could be some progress on the issue of trade where Islamabad may give India the Most Favoured Nation status – probably couched in a different name – to signal progress.
INDIA TODAY
