ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Base demands 'on reality, not fantasy,' India tells Pak

Saisuresh Sivaswamy in Colombo

Relations between India and Pakistan, which seemed to be on the mend following the prime ministerial encounter in Colombo on Wednesday, today reverted to the familiar spell of frost following the breakdown in the foreign secretary-level talks on finding a way to talk to each other.

Indian Foreign Secretary K Raghunath today advised Pakistan to base its demands "on reality and not fantasy" if it was seriously interested in the resolution of outstanding problems between the two countries.

Referring specifically to the non-paper presented by Pakistan earlier in the day listing the steps India needed to take in Kashmir, the foreign secretary said the proposals related to the internal affairs of the country and constituted interference in India's international affairs. "We outright reject such proposals," he said.

An atypically combative foreign secretary described Pakistan's insistence on projecting Kashmir upfront in the list of contentious issues between the two sides thus: "An obsessive focus on a single issue or a one-point agenda is as neurotic for individuals as it is for nation-states."

Raghunath said it was obvious that "hostile and inimical activities such as the promotion and abetment of terrorism practised by Pakistan against India eroded" an approach that is broad-based and composite. "Hence it is imperative that Pakistan ceases these activities immediately."

Joining issues with Pakistan's oft-repeated claim that India resiled from the agreement reached between the two sides at their foreign secretary-level talks in Islamabad on June 23, 1997, the foreign secretary clarified that the two parties had issued a joint statement identifying an agenda of eight subjects for discussions between the two countries as well a set of ideas regarding the modalities of these discussions. "While the agenda was conclusively set out in the joint statement, the modalities had still to be finalised," he stated today.

Referring to Pakistan's demand that political and contentious issues be brought within the ambit of SAARC discussions, Raghunath said "anybody with common sense" would know that this will destroy the association.

Asked if he shared Pakistan's assessment that the exploratory talks between the two sides in Colombo had "failed", the foreign secretary said it was a "matter of language, you can use any expression."

"We for our part are interested in serious and sustained dialogue with Pakistan, and we continue to remain in touch," he told the media. At the same time, he also reported that there had been "no movement forward in working out the modalities of resuming dialogue, since the issues between the two countries are complex."

Reiterating India's intention to proceed "step by step", Raghunath said a stable, prosperous and secure Pakistan was very much in India's interest.

"We do believe that with good intentions and a good faith approach, there is no reason why relations between the two countries should not improve."

Asked about the possibility of the two prime ministers meeting once again, on the fringes of the forthcoming NAM summit in Durban, South Africa, Raghunath said since the premiers will be present, "we are proceeding on that assumption." It is customary for the leaders to meet on such occasions, he said, in an attempt to downplay any special significance to the encounter.

Tell us what you think of this report