Ready to go extra mile, but let's talk terror: India to Pak

India on Wednesday expressed readiness to walk the extra mile to make neighbours feel secure by offering them attractive terms of engagements, but ruled out accepting or bowing before terrorism or violence, as being made a tool of state policy by some countries. Interacting with foreign correspondents here, foreign secretary S Jaishankar listed efforts in the last two years to reaching out to Pakistan, but said the terrorism has become so central to Islamabad's policy that it has made the relationship difficult to grow.

Earlier, two days after cold shouldering Pakistan's proposal for bilateral talks on Jammu and Kashmir, Ministry of External Affairs said the foreign secretary was willing to travel to Islamabad, but to discuss issues related to cross-border terrorism, which are central to the current situation in the Kashmir region. While it is being seen as rejection to Pakistan's invitation and conditioning to talk only on issues of terrorism, adding a line to discuss the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir has ignited a glimmer of hope and is seen as a leeway to revive dialogue process. "Ball is now entirely in Pakistan's court. India is ready to discuss issues in the context of current situation in Kashmir, which are related to cross-border terrorism," said a source.

In a letter that was handed over to the Pakistani foreign office by Indian high commissioner Gautam Bambawale, sources said India has conveyed that "since aspects related to cross-border terrorism are central to the current situation in J&K, we have proposed that discussions between the foreign secretaries be focused on them." Sources said the letter also states that the "government of India rejects in their entirety the self-serving allegations regarding the situation in J&K, which is an integral part of India where Pakistan has no locus standi."

Jaishankar took pains to explain to foreign correspondents India's peace endeavours in the region, saying Indian diplomacy was more practical now. He also claimed that Pakistan created a 'unique problem' in the region because of the terrorism issue. "The centrality of the issue is terrorism... what you have seen in the last two years is a great effort on our part to reach out to Pakistan and find common ground on many issues that face the relationship but the last time this was done was in December when the foreign minister went there for the Heart of Asia conference and we agreed to look at the comprehensive bilateral dialogue," he said, adding that as biggest country of region, India has to go the extra mile. "We have to reach out to our neighbours, we have to make them feel secure. In last two years you have seen a great effort on our part to reach out to Pakistan," he maintained.

Elaborating, he said, while all other countries in SAARC were on the same chapter as India, in terms of promoting connectivity and people-to-people contacts, there was a unique challenge from one country, which is Pakistan. "Rest of the region is with us in wanting a much more cooperative and connected South Asia," he said.

On August 15, Pakistan foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry had called in Indian high commissioner to Pakistan and handed over a letter addressed to his Indian counterpart, inviting him to visit Pakistan for talks on Jammu and Kashmir, which he termed 'the main bone of contention between India and Pakistan'. Pakistan's invitation came days after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's advisor on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz's statement that Pakistan is planning to invite India for a dialogue on the Kashmir issue.

Meanwhile, the main opposition party, the  Congress, on Wednesday attacked the Modi government for its "inconsistent" foreign policy which changed faster than the weather and asked the government to end its "knee-jerk" policy with Pakistan and fix problems within the country first before raising issues like Balochistan.

"It has become almost impossible for us to track this government's daily changes in policy. One day, we are talking at Ministerial level, one day we are talking at Foreign Secretary level, one day we are calling off. I am waiting for a stable policy. I think the real thing is zigzag, the real thing is consistency, the real thing is the lack of it and the real thing is rhetoric and empty threats. This is the real problem with this Government and with this Prime Minister," Congress Spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said.

He said one felt pride when the Prime Minister made "jingoistic" statements about Balochistan, but lamented that it would have no resonance or meaning when things in the country's own backyard in Kashmir are not set right. He said the Prime Minister spoke about Balochistan in his Independence day speech but nothing about prevailing situation in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Explaining the Indian response, official sources said it was aimed at scuttling any move by Islamabad to create the impression that New Delhi was not ready for talks  at a time of unrest in  Kashmir. After responding to the offer, India will now take up issues it wants to be addressed, they said. There was no official word on a date for the meeting between the foreign secretaries and sources said the “ball was now in Pakistan’s court”.

But what is worrying former diplomats is that India-Pakistan meetings often go beyond the pre-determined script and they apprehend that New Delhi could be walking into a trap laid by Islamabad. “Since Prime Minister has raised the issue of Balochistan, there is every likelihood that Pakistan may raise that India was backing separatists there,” says former Ambassador Rajiv Dogra.

It also signifies a shift, in the sense that earlier, all terrorism related issues were supposed to be discussed at the levels of national security advisors as decided by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif during a meeting in the Russian city of Ufa in July last year.