The Hindu : Kanwal Sibal rules out early talks with Pak.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 02, 2002

National

National

Kanwal Sibal rules out early talks with Pak.

By C. Raja Mohan

NEW DELHI JULY 1. Resumption of a political dialogue with Pakistan will have to wait till the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, concretely demonstrates a permanent end to cross-border terrorism, the new Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal, has said.

Referring to Pakistan's assurances last month to the United States and Britain on ending cross-border infiltration, Mr. Sibal pointed to Islamabad's failure to abide by its past assurances.

Asked about the prospect of talks with Pakistan, Mr. Sibal told reporters here today that "our moves in the future will depend on whether Pakistan stops terrorism... We have to very carefully observe whether Pakistan implements its commitments or not. Our experience on this is not very positive.''

Mr. Sibal, who succeeded Chokila Iyer, insisted that dismantling the infrastructure of terrorism on Pakistani soil was the key to a permanent end to cross-border infiltration. "We will really have to see whether difference will exist between what Pakistan says and does, or because of pressures from the international community and India's demands, Pakistan will finally realise what is good for its own future.''

Mr. Sibal becomes the top bureaucrat of the Foreign Office at a critical moment in Indo-Pak. relations that are likely to be shaped by what Islamabad does during the impending elections to the Assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.

A 1966 batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service, Mr. Sibal has served with distinction in many parts of the world. He was India's ambassador to France, Egypt and Turkey.

During the early 1990s, he served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian embassy in Washington.

It was a difficult period for Indo-U.S. relations, when the Clinton administration exerted great pressure on India to roll back its nuclear and missile programmes and questioned the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian Union. Relations with the United States have come a long way since then and political cooperation with Washington is now at the top of India's foreign policy agenda.

Mr. Sibal, who has strong views and is prepared to articulate them, is expected to revive the role of the foreign service bureaucracy in the making of Indian diplomacy. "Further improving the working of the Ministry of External Affairs,'' Mr. Sibal said, was one of his priorities.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National