EAM, FS to meet Pak counterparts in Nepal
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar are likely to meet their counterparts, Sartaj Aziz and Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary, in Nepal. The meeting may take place on the sidelines of the 37th session of the SAARC Council of Ministers' meeting on 16-17 March. However, neither side has officially confirmed when or where the said meeting would take place.
The Composite Dialogue Process (CDP) was decided upon in May 1997, when Indian PM IK Gujral and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif raised the idea of a structured dialogue encompassing all issues. Based on a compromise approach, the process allowed the countries to discuss all issues including J&K simultaneously. The talks ceased after an Indian soldier was beheaded by Pakistan in 2012.
The CDP started in 1998 and included talks on Siachen, Sir Creek, Tulbul Navigation Project, Terrorism, J&K, peace and cultural exchanges. It ceased in 1999 following the Kargil War. It resumed in 2004 and ceased after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Talks resumed in 2010 and included talks on the Mumbai attacks but ended again during the UPA tenure in 2012.
The CDP covers a range of talking points, key among them being Sir Creek, Tulbul navigation project, terrorism, peace, cultural exchanges, Siachen, economic co-operation, J&K, counter-terrorism and investigation of the 26/11 attacks.
India and Pakistan held secret National Security Advisor (NSA) level talks in Bangkok discussing a range of issues focusing on peace, terrorism and J&K. The meeting was attended by Foreign Secretaries of both countries as well and was decided upon in Paris by PM Modi and PM Sharif. The talks come in the backdrop of deteriorating relations between the two South-Asian neighbours.
The Congress termed the NSA level talks between India and Pakistan as a "grand betrayal" and said that it reflected the government's "flip-flop" policies on Pakistan. The opposition was also miffed at not being informed about such talks being held. Congress leader Anand Sharma demanded that the government explain its policies towards Pakistan and take the opposition and Parliament into confidence while doing so.
The United States welcomed the resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan after news of the NSA level talks held in Bangkok was released. "The normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan is vital to both countries and the region," a State Department spokesperson stated. The US has played an integral role in Indo-Pak peace talks considering that both are nuclear armed nations.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will meet Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the 5th 'Heart of Asia' Ministerial Meet on Afghanistan, being held in Islamabad. She will also meet her counterpart Sartaj Aziz to discuss the resumption of the Indo-Pak Composite Dialogue. Swaraj will be accompanied by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar who was present at the Bangkok NSA talks.
In statement made at the 'Heart of Asia' Summit in Islamabad, Sushma Swaraj said that India and Pakistan must show maturity for relations to move forward. In talks this afternoon, Swaraj and Sartaj Aziz are expected to discuss the resumption of Indo-Pak cricket matches. She also invited her counterparts from China, Pakistan and other Asian countries for next year's summit in India.
At a joint press conference in Islamabad, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj stated that India and Pakistan will resume the CDP and it will now be called the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue. She said that the groundwork for this dialogue was built at the NSA meet in Bangkok on 6 December. She added that PM Modi would visit Islamabad in 2016 for the SAARC Summit.
Pakistan is hoping to come up with a mutually agreeable date for foreign secretary-level talks with India which would initiate the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue (CBD) process. Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif's adviser on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz said that the Kashmir issue was the most important agenda for the talks. Pakistan said the Kashmir issue has to be addressed for peace in South Asia.
The spokesperson for Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Ministry Nafees Zakaria stated that the bilateral dialogue between India and Pakistan is still on. This contradicts Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit's statement last week that said "at present the peace process is suspended." "Yes, dialogue is the best option," Mr Zakaria said in response to a question whether the door was still open for negotiations.
