ISLAMABAD, 5 January 2004 — Putting aside their bitter past, the prime ministers of India and Pakistan held their first direct talks yesterday since the two countries nearly went to war two years ago.
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali wasted no time after the formal opening session of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit to meet in a room at the Jinnah Convention Center for 30 minutes, including 15 minutes of one-on-one talks.
That meeting is to be followed up today with a more important encounter between Vajpayee and Pakistan’s top leader, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
Musharraf later hosted a dinner for all seven regional leaders, including Vajpayee.
In an obvious attempt to avoid raising false hopes, New Delhi played down the significance of the talks.
Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha characterized the talks with Musharraf as a routine diplomatic courtesy call, distinguishing it from the launch of a comprehensive dialogue that Pakistan seeks on resolving long-standing disputes, especially the bitter conflict over the divided territory of Kashmir.
A spokesman for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, however, said he hoped the historic meetings would lead to a formal dialogue.
“We hope that all these confidence-building measures will ultimately lead toward a composite dialogue and peace and security and stability in the region,” Masood Khan told a news conference. “These high-level meetings are very important. They create a new ambiance, they create a new atmosphere and they can facilitate bilateral negotiations also.” Sinha gave few details on what topics would be discussed, and there was no sign that anything would be off limits. Vajpayee indicated previously, however, that he wants to focus on multilateral issues involving the seven-nation SAARC, which is holding its summit through Tuesday.
“We’ve come for the SAARC summit, and when the prime minister visits any country, he meets all those he can as a matter of courtesy,” Sinha said. “His call on President Musharraf will be in the nature of a courtesy call.”
The fact that meetings are being held at all illustrates how far the countries have come in repairing their relations in the last nine months, and analysts said the leadership in both countries seemed willing to overlook their bitter past and make a fresh start.
The two South Asian rivals nearly came to war two years ago when militants that India claims were backed by Pakistan attacked the Indian Parliament on Dec. 13, 2001. Pakistan denies the allegation.
Vajpayee shook hands and smiled with Jamali in front of television cameras and photographers before going into their meeting.
“Let me tell you Mr. Vajpayee is holding my hand very, very firmly,” Jamali said with a smile.
Jamali said he had great respect for the Indian leader.
“He is a visionary, a poet, a prolific writer and an able politician, which are the qualities of a true leader,” he said.
Officials on both sides described as frank and cordial. “The two prime ministers agreed that the momentum created in bilateral relations should be maintained,” Sinha said. Sinha met separately with his Pakistani counterpart, Khursheed Kasuri, who said that “the entire gambit of regional and international issues were discussed.”
