Pakistan reacts cautiously to Singh-Gilani meet
April 29, 2010 22:20 IST
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani's meeting at Bhutanese capital Thimphu is a positive development but the meeting could not be called as a big breakthrough' as neither any agenda for further talks nor was ant decision to resume the composite dialogue taken, say Pakistani experts.
Talking to rediff.com Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Pakistani defense analyst said, "It is good the the prime ministers of the two countries have met after a long time, but I think it could not be called as a big breakthrough as they have not agreed to any particular type of dialogue in the future. India has always maintained it wants to talk but the problem is India never agrees to any particular agenda. India says only terrorism should be discussed and there will be no meaningful dialogue if the agenda is not shared by the two countries."
Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief said, "Such talks would be always artificial until the real issues are not discussed. There would be no positive development as there is no real pressure over India from the US and others for talks with Pakistan. India is only talking about terrorism and it would never agree to discuss the other issues like Kashmir and water-sharing, so even if the talks are resumed it would not be result oriented."
Commenting over the meeting, Rahimullah Yusafzai, senior journalist told rediff.com, "it is just a formal meeting; India is in no mood to restart the composite dialogues, so the meeting could not be termed as a big success; it seems exactly like the previous meeting of Gilani-Singh at Sharm-el Sheik and the recent foreign secretary level meeting in India, so no one should expect anything big from it."
Yusafzai further said, "If the talks starts once against India will speak about taking action against Hafiz Saeed and I think there is any chance of that happenning; no doubt Pakistan has arrested some culprits, but no such action is expected that would fulfill India's demands."
Talat Masood, a Pakistani defense analyst said, "No doubt it is good news for all that Gilani and Singh have held a meeting and have agreed to further talks, but now the question is how to take the process forward and to solve the core issues between the two countries. It would be a major development if the two countries agreed to the resumption of composite dialogues."
Tahir Ali
