Pakistani media today hoped that external affairs minister SM Krishna's visit here will "give peace a chance" but doubted whether it will result in anything tangible for the two sides.
Acknowledging that Mumbai will continue to cast a shadow on Indo-Pak talks, Pakistani media today hoped that external affairs minister SM Krishna's visit here will "give peace a chance" but doubted whether it will result in anything tangible for the two sides.
As the two foreign ministers met here with the aim to restore trust, leading daily 'Dawn' said they "are likely to announce some minor 'doable' steps for confidence-building...
"These steps... may include feel-good measures such as reconvening of the judicial committee on prisoners, strengthening cross-LoC CBMs and enhancing cultural and trade relations and people-to-people contacts," it said.
The paper, however, opined that Mumbai will continue to cast its long shadow over Pakistan-India ties.
The News, too, hailed Krishna's visit to Pakistan, saying that he had arrived with a "message of peace."
"The much awaited visit of the Indian foreign minister to Pakistan started on a positive note ...but there are questions on whether this goodwill will result in anything tangible for the two countries," a report in Express Tribune read.
The Nation and The Post ran edits on the Indo-Pak talks.
According to the Nation, India is not keen on settling disputes with Pakistan.
"...India is clearly not sincere about settling disputes with Pakistan, it is futile to set store by the Qureshi-Krishna talks being held at Islamabad today that they would lead to any meaningful outcome."
New Delhi is interested in virtually restarting the whole process of negotiations, but that too after its demands on the issue of terrorism have been satisfied, the edit read.
"These demands Islamabad would find hard to meet because of their illogical nature and India would have no compunction about insisting that they must be accepted, unless the ground reality that favours its adamant behaviour changes.
"India wants to ditch the peace process that had reached a point where meaningful discussion on the core issue of Kashmir was on the cards. We are now back to square one! This intransigent attitude of India has to be met with a firmer determination to secure the solution of all issues, the most urgent and vital being the Kashmir dispute, on the basis of justice and fair play," the edit said.
The Post in its edit wrote, "...no clear-cut picture has as yet emerged about the actual agenda or the exact format. While India has talked of engagement with Pakistan in general terms Pakistan has made it clear that it looks at the meeting as a step towards the revival of the composite dialogue suspended by India following the Mumbai terror attack.
"First India called off the composite dialogue on the excuse of the tragic Mumbai incident and since then it has been insisting that Pakistan should do more on the terror issue."
In pursuing this line India has "curiously ignored" the fact that Pakistan, itself a victim of the worst kind of terrorism, could by no stretch of the imagination be accused of being soft on forces perpetrating violence and spreading death and destruction in the length and breadth of the country, it said.
"Needless to emphasise, it is time India saw things in the broader perspective and realised that terrorism is a common threat to both countries and there must be close cooperation between them to counter the menace. The problem cannot be solved by putting peace talks on hold and asking for unilateral action by Pakistan alone," the edit concluded.
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