India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947. ILLUSTRATION: JAMAL KHURSHID
Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh said India would be "picking up the threads" of peace talks with the new Pakistani government led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, which was elected in May.
"There is a new government in Pakistan now. We will be picking up the threads from where we left off with the old government," Singh, the top official in the ministry, told reporters in New Delhi on her first day in the job.
Singh however said that any dialogue with Islamabad "presupposes an environment free of violence and of terror".
Sharif Thursday repeated his call for rapprochement.
"We will boost trade, we will boost business and will boost investment with India," the premier told reporters in Karachi.
"We will also try our best to solve all longstanding issues with India, including Kashmir."
New Delhi broke off peace talks with Islamabad after gunmen killed 166 people in Mumbai in 2008, an attack which India blamed on Pakistani militants.
Talks resumed in 2011 with two rounds that focused largely on trade and visas. But relations soured again in January and February this year after six soldiers in total from both sides were killed in exchanges along the de facto border in Kashmir, a region claimed by both countries.
Tension has continued between the nuclear-armed nations in recent months, with both sides protesting at the deaths of prisoners held by the other.
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COMMENTS (53)
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@vijay:
"@Lala Gee: We know how you treated Jinnah. Do I have to remind you how he died?"
What happened with Jinnah is nothing more than unproven theories, but what happened with your "Bapu", Gandhi, is very well known and beyond doubt. A fanatic Hindu belonging to the Hindu extremist organization, RSS, with the blessings of the party cheif, killed him for his sins of being open minded and kindhearted. While you punished the culprit for his crime, strangely though, nowadays you guys are not only vehemently defending another fanatic of the very same organization, Mr. Narendra Modi, who is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent Indian Muslim citizens, but also trying your best to make him the next Primer Minister of India. What a turn around? Jinnah was intelligent enough to see it coming at least 70 years earlier for which every Pakistani should be greatly indebted to him.
@Lala Gee: In India there is no restriction on Hindu or muslim ideological organizations. Can you understand something as simple as freedom to profess and propagate any religion? It's enshrined in our constitution. Hence we have hindu organisations like RSS, VHP and Muslim organisations like Deobandis, Barevalis, wakf boards etc are free to run organisations in their name and propagate their religion. Similarily we have Aligarh Muslim University, Benaras Hindu University etc which retain their religious character.Have a look at some of the Islamic organizations of India http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:IslamicorganisationsbasedinIndia
@Lala Gee
@Raj – USA: ‘In Pakistan nobody is more revered, respected, and loved than a Shia, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Great Quaid of the nation. No other person even come close to his status and aura.’ You are spot on! His wife and daughter would have agreed!!!
@Lala Gee: We know how you treated Jinnah. Do I have to remind you how he died?
@Akbar Khan: All other than terrorists.
@Lala Gee: And who killed 150,000 Sikh youth in Indian Punjab during their struggle for Khalistan?
Why are underreporting the actual number??
its not 150000,its 15 billion Sikhs,LOL
@Lala Gee: I hope other Pakistani friends are reading your comparison. Anybody who knows what BJP is and what Pakistan is, they don't have to wonder why Pakistan is in such a ruined state.
@Peace!: I wish peace returns to your land soon and we people can work together to address the real concerns of our ordinary folks such as Corruption, Poverty, Lack of adequate Education, healthcare, Public Infrastructure in our countries.
Please ignore any nasty comment from our side on this page. These are just tit for tat emotional outbursts. Most People over here are sane enough and would like to focus their energies on our own internal problems of which there is a huge laundry list.
@Jaleel Khoso: You are right. Now stand up!!
you feel like to talk ,you know most of pakistani do not feel like to talk to india.
@1984:
"VHP,RSS are all ideological organizations"
So is Pakistan. A state specifically created for Muslims.
"Looks like u just shot in ur foot and Babloo just gave an apt reply..Now u r changing ur question."
My question was always the same. Make a Muslim, could be even AJPK, President of BJP first, and then ask Pakistan to do something. You guys seriously need help for CDS.
@Lala Gee
You equate BJP/RSS which fell far short of a clear majority in Indian parliament in all its 65 years with Pakistani state! Do you even understand how self deafeating it is? But well you may be right. May be Pakistan is just a mirror image of BJP/RSS.
The Govt. of the Democratic Secular Republic of India is soo smart. They really know how to play with Pakistan very well. Govt. of India knows very well that the Constitution of India prohibits any Govt. from giving even an inch of land to anyone no matter if it is Valley of Kashmir to Pakistan or Arunachal Pradesh & Sikkim to China. 66 years have passed by. 66 more will pass. Borders of India will remain the same and intact.
@Lala Gee: For someone who wrote a long paragraph about preamle,constition..You seem to be ignorant about the consitution of a country and a political party
VHP,RSS are all ideological organizations...No muslim would join them as its against the tenets of their religion
However,BJP is a political party..There are muslims like Shahnawaz Hussein who have risen up the ranks..And if he's good enough,he may even become their president.
Also,the election of Abdul Kalam as President has shown that BJP would surely give chance if "talented" muslims come forward.
Besides,electing a muslim just to please others is not seculaism,its tokenism...
Looks like u just shot in ur foot and Babloo just gave an apt reply..Now u r changing ur question
Honestly,ET boards wont be colorful without you
India is a bully..plain and simple!
@Babloo:
"The following are the official and correct figures and also need to be reported."
And who killed 150,000 Sikh youth in Indian Punjab during their struggle for Khalistan?
By the way, you don't have to convince yourself, as most Indians already believe in these official figures, except nobody else is going to believe in them.
@Babloo: Lala Gee floored completerly!!!!!
Pakistanis like Lala Gee do not consider Dr. Abdul Kalam a muslim. So, they shall never recall him or care to know about him. It is similar to the way that they do not consider Shias or Ahmedis also as muslims. Have you ever heard any Pakistani quoting a Shia as an example and praising him, not just Pakistani Shia but a Shia from anywhere in the world. They may mention a Shia only when it is necessary to placate or pacify them.
stop this farse.. talking to India wouldnt resolve any issues whether it is water or kashmir.... it is time to stand up to the indian bully and stop begging for talks or good relations.
Im a Pakistani. I dont care about Kashmir. Especially not when our own country lies on the brink of collapse. We need to pursue, aggressively and whole heartedly, peace not just with India but the whole world. Our image and perception globally is in tatters. Hypernationalist sentimentality by those who have not travelled and seen how the world lives is going to be the end of us! Stop with the hate mongering and paranoia. Everyone is not out to GET US. We are destroying ourselves. Please for the love of everything thats holy, wake up! Lets fix our own house
@Babloo:
"You are so ignorant. You should be comparing Indian constitution with Pak constitution."
LOL. Let me help you understand with even simpler example. "We will do that when VHP or RSS will elect a Muslim as its 'Party' President.". Do I need to further simplify to make you understand?
@Lala Gee, Also India is in no hurry to get Gilgit and Baltistan. Its legally India's. But India can wait. If and when Pakistan breaks up because of its own folly , India will take what is India's legally. It could be 5 years from now or it could be 50 years from now or something else.
@Lala Gee You are so ignorant. You should be comparing Indian constitution with Pak constitution. Also when BJP was in power , it proposed Mr Abdul Kalam as the president of India and got him elected. Yes Mr Abdul Kalam was BJP nominee for the post of president of India.
@Babloo:
"top 1. Change Pak constitution to give all citizens , irrespective of religion, same status ( abrogate laws that ban non-muslims from top posts of president, prime-minister, governor )."
We will do that when BJP will elect a Muslim as its President.
"2nd : When are we getting GIlgit and Baltistan back as the whole of Kashmir had acceded to India."
After 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.............. billion years. Better stop daydreaming than trying to count these zeros.
Today Kashmir is among the most peaceful states in India.
People are putting out all kinds of figures on Kashmir violence deaths. The following are the official and correct figures and also need to be reported.
1980-2006 was the most disturbed period and here are the numbers. Tribune , please allow my comment.
"In the last 21 years, 43,460 people have been killed in the Kashmir insurgency. Of these, 21,323 are militants, 13,226 civilians killed by militants, 3,642 civilians killed by security forces, and 5,369 policemen killed by militants. The 21,323 militants were killed in operations by security forces and include both Kashmiri and foreign militants. And of the 5,369 members of the security forces, around 1,500 are Kashmiri policemen."
@True Indian:
How many more are you going to kill before it finally dawns on you you are going to lose?
no mumbai no kashmir no sir creek no waters thats only solution
Talks or no talks, Pakistan won't get an inch of Kashmir for another 1000 years. India has now learned to live and deal with Pakistani Jihad. As a common India I would like good relations with Pakistan, but not at the Jihadi gun point.
@Alter Ego: Correction more than 1 lakh.....we are proud of it.....
@Rakib, You got it and Mr Swaran Singh was absolutely right. It's idiocy to beLIEVE that Kashmir talks will lead India to give Pakistan , even an inch of Kashmir. You cannot blame India for things Pakistan beleives. Can you ?
@Babloo: @ashok sai: @masialu: all of you keep on living the past and spent energies to settle scores.further precondition in any talk id worthless.if all the conditions are complied with prior to a TALK then what iss the point of having TALKS.both india or pakistan both arè guilty of alter egos and infact wish to maintain the status quo...india is more so due to ensuing slectionn in 2014.
This might be a novel way for India to slow down its growth and bring down inflation.
Pakistan should avoid such meaningless gestures of India. Talks needs to be based upon ground realities not on fiction. Without sensible settlement on Kashmir issue n for India to realize Kashmir is the key bone of contention n publically accepting as a disputed territory, any talking would be fruitless n waste of time.
Lets talk start need to deploy some Indian drone inside the pakistan to establish the peace in the land.
@Maverick: (Hurrah! More time-wasting from the Indians who have absolutely no intention of solving any of the issues facing the two countries.)
Quote: It was sometime in the 1980s that I ran into the late Sardar Swaran Singh, Indian external affairs minister (1964-66 and 1970-74) at a conference in Vienna.
What, I asked him, had really taken place during the six rounds of Kashmir talks he had held with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto between December 1962 and May 1963? Why, despite American and British sponsorship and backing of these talks, had it not been possible to settle the dispute?
He asked me if I spoke Punjabi, which I told him I did. “So let me explain it to you in Punjabi,” he said. In his old village, he told me, during his early youth, there lived a pretty girl named Banto, with whom all the boys were quite taken, but she showed no interest in any of them.
However, from time to time, to make their hearts jump with joy (mumdyaan da ranjha razi karan layee), she would lift her laacha just a little and expose a bit of an ankle before disappearing from view. This kept the boys happy for some time. That is exactly, he explained, what we do to Pakistan on Kashmir. When it becomes insistent, we flash a bit of the Kashmir ankle which keeps it for some time.:Unquote
( Late Khalid Hasan in "Postcard USA" Sunday, 24Feb2008, Daily Times)
@masialu: As an Indian, I should like to see that evidence. V. C. Bhutani, Edinburgh, 1 Aug 2013, 1451 GMT
Pakistan has also announced that India would be granted the MFN statuts +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ by the year 2055.
@Alter Ego: "Another round of pointless talks with state terrorists and the muderers of 80,000 Kashmiris." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sir your data is out of date. The curremt figure is 100000.
The list of pre-conditions from Indian side can fill a book, if India so desires. Lets start with top 1. Change Pak constitution to give all citizens , irrespective of religion, same status ( abrogate laws that ban non-muslims from top posts of president, prime-minister, governor ). 2nd : When are we getting GIlgit and Baltistan back as the whole of Kashmir had acceded to India.
Merely wishing for talks won't result in resolution of disputes. India needs to substantially alter the strategy she is pursuing in the region.
"will boost investment with India,” +++++++++++++++++++++ ????? Investment in India or Investment from India but Investment with India?
Remember the instructions from the Big Boss to NS- go slow on India.
"Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh said India would be “picking up the threads” " +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Great misunderstanding....The officaal was talking about Textiles.
No talks unless India hands over Kashmir to Pakistan ++++++++++++++++++ Kashmir banega Pakistan...Pakistan Zindabad. Let Zndabad LeJ Zindabad SSP Zindabad.
Blah blah blah blah= zero. Another round of pointless talks with state terrorists and the muderers of 80,000 Kashmiris.
Hurrah! More time-wasting from the Indians who have absolutely no intention of solving any of the issues facing the two countries.
@Water Bottle: Well india didn't give either any evidence. By the way, who accepted doing the mumbai attacks lately? But jokes aside - a new era of "Me nahi maanta - tumhara kasoor he" on either sides is going to start again !!!
@masialu:
"In the first session we should put all the evidence of India’s involvement in the terrorist activities in Pakistan and talks should not move forward until all the questions are answered satisfactorily."
Well, there is no evidence with Pakistan. Otherwise, they would have cried hoarse.
On the contrary most sincere Pakistanis know that all militant attacks inside Pakistan are done by Pakistanis.
Useless from Indian point of view, let Pakistan first take action against thugs responsible for 26/11.
Very good.
Even though Pakistan hasn't done anything concrete to punish the masterminds of the mumbai attacks, I think it's about time to move on.
In the first session we should put all the evidence of India's involvement in the terrorist activities in Pakistan and talks should not move forward until all the questions are answered satisfactorily.
Who care!!!!!