New Delhi, Feb. 16: When the India and Pakistan foreign secretaries meet here on February 25, the chances are they will re-live Sharm el-Sheikh (July 16, 2009) in its key dimensions.
Knowledgeable sources indicated on Tuesday that the Indian script before last Saturday’s Pune blast was to have underlined questions about Islamabad’s slow-footed response to the Mumbai terrorist assault launched from Pakistan, which had figured in passing at Sharm el-Sheikh.
With Pune now clouding the picture further, the Indian side will be enabled, said sources, to point to it if at least a preliminary or provisional report can be got ready in time. In the end, it comes down to speed sleuthing before the foreign secretaries take the field.
When at Sharm el-Sheikh Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had "reiterated the need to bring the perpetrators of Mumbai to justice", Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had little hesitation assuring that his government will do "everything in its power". That did not amount to assuming responsibility. There is little reason why Pakistan cannot adopt a similar same stance on February 25.
On Tuesday Prime Minister Gilani has offered India an agreement on intelligence-sharing. Sources say the response will depend on the precise nature of the offer which could be elaborated at the foreign secretaries’ meet if it does not happen earlier.
This subject, too, is a throwback to Sharm el-Sheikh where, according to the joint statement issued after the talks that got into trouble in the Indian Parliament, the two leaders agreed to share "real-time, credible and actionable intelligence on any future threats". Intelligence throwing light on past episodes — Mumbai or Pune — is clearly not what is meant.
The scheduled foreign secretary talks are in line with what has crystallised as the ideology of Sharm el-Sheikh. Non-compliance on past terrorism concerns and new episodes of terrorism are irrelevant to this scheme. The joint statement of July 16, 2009 had said, "Both Prime Ministers recognised that dialogue is the only way forward. Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed."
The Manmohan-Musharraf Delhi joint statement of April 18, 2005 — in retrospect it can be seen as a building block for Sharm el-Sheikh — had also noted that terrorism would not be allowed to "impede the peace process". This was recalled in the New York joint statement of September 14 of the two leaders. Former national security adviser Brajesh Mishra made a reference to the Delhi joint statement in a TV observation on Monday.
Anand K. Sahay