Bilateral Ties: ‘India willing to discuss Kashmir issue’

India is willing to advance its peace talks with Pakistan and discuss the Kashmir issue, but the main stumbling block is Islamabad’s failure to clamp down on militant groups, Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai has said. Mathai, in an interview to The Wall Street Journal, also said that Pakistan’s recent moves, including an agreement to open its markets to Indian goods, was a signal that it was serious about improving ties with India. Asserting that Pakistan needs to take serious action against militants using its soil to attack India, he said that it was deeply troubling to India that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, was able to address public gatherings and appear on television in Pakistan. At the same time, Mathai referred to Pakistan’s recent moves indicating its willingness to improve bilateral ties, including those on trade. “I wouldn’t have been as optimistic six months ago,” he said, speaking about prospects for the latest round of peace talks, which began a year ago.


Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2012.