After 2-month hiatus, Pakistan-India dialogue resumes

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI

Two months after talks were suspended following a January terrorist attack in northern India allegedly carried out by Pakistani militants, diplomats of both countries held talks in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The talks were held on the sidelines of a "Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process" meeting currently underway in India.

According to an Indian government statement, talks between Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar and Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry were "frank and constructive".

"The two foreign secretaries exchanged ideas on taking the relationship forward," the statement read.

Tuesday’s discussion was the first official meeting between the two top diplomats.

In March, the two men met informally in Nepal during a South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meeting.

India-Pakistan dialogue broke down following a deadly militant attack on an Indian airbase base in January.

After the Indian government claimed the attackers had come from Pakistan, both countries agreed to suspend talks.

- Kashmir

A statement issued by the Pakistani government said that all outstanding issues -- including the dispute over Kashmir -- had been discussed at Tuesday’s meeting.

"The foreign secretary [Chaudhry] emphasized [during his meeting with Jaishankar] that Kashmir remains the core issue that requires a just solution in accordance with UN resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people," the Indian media quoted a Pakistani government statement as saying.

Experts in India, however, do not expect much to come out of Tuesday’s meeting.

"The meeting is useful but unlikely to yield any significant outcome," Samir Patil, a security analyst at the Gateway House think tank told Anadolu Agency.

"The India-Pakistan peace process has a long history of false starts," he said.

"However," Patil added, "what is clear from the meeting is that [Indian] Prime Minister Narendra Modi is still looking at ways to engage with Pakistan, despite not-so-positive signals from across the border."