‘India forced Pak team change’

It’s advantage India. As New Delhi and Islamabad played a game of one-upmanship in the run-up to Thursday’s secretary-level talks, according to Pakistan’s leading English daily Dawn, India forced the neighbour to alter its official delegation.

Dawn reported on Wednesday that representatives of Pakistani ministries of water, power and interior were removed from the delegation led by foreign secretary Salman Bashir, “thus defeating Islamabad’s desire for meaningful and purposeful negotiations on critical issues straining bilateral ties”.

The numerical strength of the Pakistani delegation, however, remains the same. Foreign office diplomats have replaced the technical officials. Dawn said the implication of the changes was that the two sides would no longer have in-depth discussions on pressing issues such as the water dispute.

Quoting a diplomat, the newspaper said Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, while extending the invitation for talks to Bashir, had hinted at New Delhi’s willingness to discuss all issues, including water. Pakistani foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit conceded the change, but denied that it was forced by India.