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Action against terror promised

Harish Khare

Manmohan, Zardari agree to work for early and full normalisation of ties

NEW YORK: In what has turned out to be his most consequential engagement so far on this American trip, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has managed to secure from President Asif Ali Zardari an assurance that “the government of Pakistan stands by its commitments of January 6, 2004.”

This renewal of the January 2004 commitment was reiterated on Wednesday afternoon when Dr. Singh met Mr. Zardari on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Dr. Singh travelled to the U.N. headquarters for this meeting.

The two leaders issued a joint-statement at the end of their meeting, which lasted more than an hour (though originally the interaction was scheduled for only half-an-hour). For most of the time, they talked one-to-one, with their delegations providing only supporting inputs. The Indian side gave the impression of being satisfied with the first substantial dialogue with the new Pakistani leadership.

(In January 2004, the Pakistani leadership [then headed by General Pervez Musharraf] made the commitment that the territory under Pakistan’s control would not be allowed to be used for terrorist activities against India.)

The two sides acknowledged that the peace process had virtually stalled, especially in the wake of a number of spectacular terrorist bomb-blasts in India and repeated ceasefire violations. The Indian attitude discernibly soured after the attack early this year on the Indian diplomatic mission in Kabul.

The joint statement noted that “the peace process has been under strain in recent months.” But the two leaders agreed to “work for an early and full normalisation of relations” between the countries on the basis of “mutual respect, peaceful co-existence and non-interference.”

Before the “summit,” senior members of the prime ministerial entourage were frank enough to talk understandingly of Mr. Zardari’s difficulties, especially given the far-from-settled equations among various power players in Pakistan. The horrible bombing of Hotel Marriott in Islamabad a few days ago reinforced this Indian perception.

Among the specific initiatives the two leaders agreed to work for is the decision to begin cross-LoC trade on the Srinagar-Muzzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakot roads from October 21.

Text of the joint statement by Manmohan and Zardari

Zardari calls Manmohan 'architect of modern India'

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