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New Delhi: Taking note
of "forward movement" in bilateral ties, India Saturday said all
issues will be discussed when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and
his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani hold bilateral talks
on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in the Maldives next week.
New Delhi, however, downplayed the Pakistan prime minister's
latest statement that seemed to indicate a hedging on the MFN
status to India after Islamabad announced it three days ago,
saying it hoped the MFN will not take very long to become
operational.
Manmohan Singh will be meeting all the South Asian leaders on the
sidelines of the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) summit in the Maldives, Foreign Secretary
Ranjan Mathai told reporters.
Talks between Manmohan Singh and Gilani are expected to be held on
Friday (Nov 11) morning at the picturesque Addu Atoll in the
Maldives, well-placed sources said.
Manmohan Singh leaves Wednesday on a four-day visit to the
Maldives to participate in the 17th SAARC summit where South Asian
leaders will sign four pacts that will entail the creation of a
seed bank to boost agricultural productivity and a rapid action
force to deal with natural disasters like cyclone and quakes.
Shedding post-26/11 bitterness, India has taken note of some
positive gestures on part of Pakistan that seem to suggest a
qualitative change in atmospherics in bilateral ties.
"With Pakistan, there have been some positive indicators in the
last few weeks," Mathai said. Alluding to Pakistan's prompt action
in releasing an Indian helicopter and crew within hours after it
strayed into the Pakistani territory last month and the granting
of the Most Favoured Nation status to India, Mathai stressed these
are "indications of forward movement" in bilateral relations.
"All aspects of bilateral relations will be discussed when the two
prime ministers meet," Mathai said when asked about the agenda for
the meeting between Manmohan Singh and Gilani next week.
"We have been consistent in seeking a relationship which is
stable, normal, in which minor incidents should not derail the
overall trend towards a more cooperative and constructive
relationship between us as neighbours," he said.
He also welcomed Pakistan's decision to send a judicial commission
to interview witnessed connected with the 26/11 terror probe.
The two leaders are expected to discuss a swathe of bilateral
issues, including Kashmir and terrorism, and focus on
confidence-building measures to enhance people-to-people contacts.
This will be the first meeting between the leaders of India and
Pakistan since they last met in Thimphu last year on the margins
of the SAARC summit and the first since the two countries resumed
their stalled peace process early this year.
New Delhi is also hoping that there will be greater clarity on the
MFN issue when Manmohan Singh meets Gilani.
"There is no time frame. We expect it will not take very long (to
become operational)," Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told
reporters here.
Mathai stressed that according to the information available
through the Pakistan government, the Pakistan Cabinet has approved
the process of normalization of trade relations of, which MFN is a
part.
India had given Pakistan MFN status way back in 1996.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday welcomed it. "Better late
than never. I welcome it," Manmohan Singh had said.
However, since Islamabad's announcement there has been a spate of
conflicting statements over the MFN to India, which is being
opposed by some influential right-wing sections in Pakistan which
contend that trade relations with India should not be normalized
till the Kashmir issue is resolved.
On Friday night, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani
complicated the issue. "The Cabinet has only given its approval in
principle to move forward on the issue (of MFN) and permitted the
Ministry of Commerce, which is actively engaged in trade talks
with New Delhi, to negotiate with it trade-related issues," Gilani
told reporters in Lahore.
"We will give it the go-ahead if the situation is quite favorable
and in the national interest. Otherwise, proceedings on it would
be withheld," Gilani said, according to some reports in Pakistani
media.
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