New Delhi: India and Pakistan have agreed to resume formal peace talks that were broken off by New Delhi after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Indian sources said on Thursday, though they sought to play down expectations for major progress. The neighbours have been under pressure from the United States to reduce tension because their rivalry spills over into Afghanistan, complicating peace efforts there.
A senior Indian government official said the decision to return to talks was made at a meeting between the two countries' top diplomats in Bhutan's capital, Thimphu, on the margins of a regional conference.
A Pakistani official wouldn't confirm the decision, but said there had been progress. "The resumption of a formal dialogue has been the subject of discussions all along in these talks," the senior official in Islamabad said. "All I can say for now is that there has been progress towards that, but I can't say for now when it will happen."
Previous formal talks, which started in 2004, quickly floundered amid a minefield of political obstacles and distrust. "I am cautiously optimistic about the talks. Cautious because there are so many variables and unknowns involved," said Amitabh Mattoo, professor of International Relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
New Delhi suspended the peace process between the two sides after the commando-style militant attacks in India's commercial capital, blaming Pakistan-based militants for the deaths of 166 people. Since then officials from the two nations have met to improve ties but have shied away from resuming the so-called composite dialogue that included resolving key differences, including a dispute over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir.
"The new talks are in effect the formal resumption of the composite dialogue," said a senior Indian official involved in repairing ties with Pakistan. "What happened in Thimphu is that, we both agreed there is support for the process (on both sides)," the official said, adding the new talks would not be called a "composite dialogue".
Cautiously Optimistic
Indian government sources said it had been agreed that talks would resume at several levels, including between the home secretaries of the two countries "in the coming months", leading up to talks between their foreign ministers, later this year.
Financial markets tend not to react to such diplomatic twists and turns, but a second attack like Mumbai could trigger a retaliation by India, a move that would almost certainly hit investor confidence in Asia's third-largest economy.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made efforts to entice Pakistan to peace talks, concerned about the legacy of his second term government. But such moves have little impact on voters at home who are more concerned about inflation and corruption, and India these days is looking more towards competing with China on economic and security issues than its traditional rival Pakistan.
Tentative discussions between India and Pakistan do not have a record of success. India has consistently demanded that Pakistan act against militant groups on its soil. Islamabad, which is fighting an Islamist insurgency of its own, says it is doing all it can and demands New Delhi provide evidence to back its accusations.
Along with Kashmir, the foes have engaged in a proxy battle for influence in Afghanistan, complicating Western efforts to end the 10-year war there. Pakistan considers Afghanistan a part of its sphere of influence and claims a role in any effort to seek a settlement with the Taliban. India, which supported the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance during the civil war, fears a return of the Taliban would embolden militant groups acting against it.
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