level talks between India and Pakistan in 15 months ended without any breakthrough. At best it just broke the ice between the two South Asian neighbors. It ended with only an agreement to “keep in touch”, signalling that relations between the nuclear-armed rivals remain frosty. “Nothing has come out of these talks, nothing was suppose to come out,” political columnist Cho Ramaswamy said. “Whether there is going to be another round of talks depends on the amount of friendly pressure Americans put on both sides.” India said the four-hour meeting between the foreign secretaries in New Delhi was intended to begin the process of rebuilding a relationship badly damaged by the 2008 Mumbai attacks. “We went into today's talks with an open mind but fully conscious of the limitations imposed by the large trust deficit between the two countries,” Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said after talks with her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir. “In line with our graduated and step by step approach, our aims were modest.” But the difference in tone was obvious from the statements of the two officials. Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said that India's focus on the 2008 Mumbai attacks was “unfair” and was stalling efforts to get bilateral relations back on track. “It is unfair and unrealistic and, in our view, counterproductive to keep the focus on that (Mumbai) to stall the process of the broader relationship between the two countries,” said Bashir told reporters after talks with Rao. Pakistan has called for the resumption of comprehensive peace talks, but India has demanded it crack down on militant groups operating from its soil first, especially Hafiz Saeed. Rao said she reiterated to Bashir that Pakistan must do more to dismantle terror networks and gave him dossiers on those linked to the Mumbai attacks. “As far as the issue of Mumbai is concerned, Pakistan has done everything that was proper and could be done,'' Bashir said, adding that both countries agree on the need to fight terror. Rao said she had pressed the Pakistani side on the issue of terrorism and handed over three dossiers requesting further action against those responsible for the attacks, as well as other “fugitives from Indian law” believed to be sheltering in Pakistan. “I spelt out forthrightly our concerns on terrorism emanating from Pakistan against India,” she said. While acknowledging steps Pakistan had taken to bring the guilty to book, Rao said she had stressed that India felt these “did not go far enough to unravel the full conspiracy” behind the carnage in Mumbai that left 166 dead. “I told my counterpart that terrorism cannot advance any cause, but the cause of senseless violence,” she said. Rao described her aims going into the talks as “modest” but said she had enjoyed “useful, detailed and candid” discussions. Foreign Secretary Bashir said he has given proposals about the peaceful solution of Kashmir dispute to his Indian counterparts. “We have hold talks in a nice atmosphere today,” he said. The foreign secretary said responsibility lies on both countries for restoration of peace in South Asia. India called on Pakistan to investigate reported claims of responsibility for the bombing of a cafe in the city of Pune two weeks ago, Rao said. Pakistan used the meeting to raise broader issues including the dispute over Kashmir, allegations that India is aiding militants in the Pakistani province of Balochistan and a conflict over shared water resources. Bashir said the two sides need to “engage meaningfully, across the board, on all these issues.'' There was no talk of a second meeting, but Rao said she and Bashir had agreed to remain in contact. Washington sees better India-Pakistan relations as crucial so lslamabad, not having to worry about its eastern border with India, can focus on fighting the Taliban on its western border with Afghanistan.
