VZCZCXRO3263
OO RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHNE #0358/01 0561516
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 251516Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9614
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000358 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2020 
TAGS: PREL PTER IN PK
SUBJECT: INITIAL READ-OUT OF FEB 25 INDO-PAK TALKS: LOW GOI 
EXPECTATIONS WERE REALIZED 
 
REF: NEW DELHI 328 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Indian Foreign Secretary Rao and Pakistani 
Foreign Secretary Bashir had wide-ranging discussions in New 
Delhi on February 25, but the set-piece exchanges produced 
little forward movement in the dialogue.  FS Rao's remarks 
after her meeting focused singularly on terrorism issues and 
described the meeting as "a first step" towards rebuilding 
trust.  For his part, Bashir reportedly raised Kashmir, 
Baluchistan and alleged Indian misuse of Indus basin water, 
and in press remarks questioned the Indian emphasis on 
terrorism.  A joint statement was not issued.  Bashir also 
was to meet with NSA Menon and External Affairs Minister 
Krishna, and GOI sources confirmed to us talks will continue 
February 26.  No date was set for a next round of meetings. 
While the content of these talks was predictable, the 
post-meeting spin will set the tone for any further meetings. 
 End Summary. 
 
No Apparent Breakthroughs 
------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Initial media reports indicate that the set-piece 
exchanges between Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and 
her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir, lived up to their 
modest billing.  In a meeting and follow-on expanded 
discussion that lasted three hours, Rao reportedly gave 
Bashir a dossier of terror-related allegations against 17 
militants; a separate dossier on alleged misdeeds of a 
Pakistani army officer; and a third dossier on alleged 
evidence against Lashkar-e-Tayibba militant Ilyas Kashmiri. 
She also reportedly demanded Pakistani action against alleged 
Mumbai mastermind Hafiz Saeed, and raised the issue of the 
recent beheading of two Sikh Pakistani nationals in Pakistan. 
 Media reported February 25 that Bashir would meet EAM 
Krishna and NSA Menon: GOI sources confirmed to us talks will 
continue tomorrow. 
 
Rao: Good First Step, But No Composite Dialogue Yet 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶3. (U) In a post-meeting solo press conference, Rao 
characterized the talks as "useful, detailed, and candid." 
Rao acknowledged that Pakistan had taken steps against the 
Mumbai perpetrators, but said they had not gone far enough 
and pointed out that there were additional leads on Mumbai 
following the arrest of U.S. citizen David Headley.  She also 
pointed to the continued activities of a variety of jihadi 
groups in Pakistan that incite violence against India.  On 
talks, she called the meeting a "first step in a graduated 
step-by-step process" of improved Indo-Pakistani ties.  She 
confirmed that Pakistan asked to resume the Composite 
Dialogue, but said the time was not right because the sides 
need to "build an environment of trust and confidence."  Rao 
said the parties had agreed "to keep in touch," and that 
Bashir had invited her to Islamabad, but she did not specify 
a date for future talks. 
 
¶4. (U) Initial Indian media reporting of FS Bashir's press 
remarks after the meeting noted his assertion that Kashmir 
was discussed "extensively not briefly."  Bashir also 
declared "Pakistan intends to restore good ties with India 
and welcomes India's focus on terror, but it is unrealistic 
and we feel even counter-productive to link the talks with 
the 26/11 attacks alone."  He characterized Indian dossiers 
on Hafez Saeed as "more literature than evidence." 
 
It's a Start 
------------ 
 
¶5.  (C) In the run-up to the February 25 talks, GOI sources 
had made it clear to us (reftel) and local journalists that 
they were approaching the talks with modest expectations and 
they predicted no breakthroughs.  Pakistani High Commissioner 
Malik told the Ambassador that the fact that the two sides 
were talking was more important than the actual content of 
the meeting.  He stressed that the lack of an agenda gave 
both sides the opportunity to make the points they needed to 
make, given their competing interests and domestic 
constituencies. 
 
¶6.  (C)  The post-meeting spin on both sides will set the 
tone that will affect the timing and content of future 
exchanges.  As both Foreign Secretary Rao and High 
Commissioner Malik noted, the hard part will be moving on to 
substantive exchanges that advance the dialogue.  We expect 
the GOI to assure its public that counterterrorism was 
India's focus, but to do so in a manner that will not rule 
out further talks in Islamabad. 
 
 
NEW DELHI 00000358  002 OF 002 
 
 
Foreign Secretary Rao's Statement 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U)  Begin text of statement: 
 
In response to my invitation, the Foreign Secretary of 
Pakistan, Mr. Salman Bashir, is in India leading a 13 member 
delegation.  Mr. Bashir and I held talks this morning 
assisted by our respective delegations. 
 
My invitation to the Pakistani Foreign Secretary was in 
keeping with the Government of India's firm conviction that 
we must not shut the door on dialogue with Pakistan, and that 
such dialogue, if it gathers momentum, holds tremendous 
potential for the progress of the people of our region.  The 
sincere and genuine efforts we have made in past years in 
this direction have been repeatedly thwarted by acts of 
terrorism, culminating in the barbaric attack in Mumbai.  The 
Mumbai attack erased the trust and confidence that the two 
countries had painstakingly built during the period 2004-07. 
The recent Pune attack, which is still under investigation, 
is yet another reminder that our citizens remain vulnerable 
to terrorist violence. 
 
We went into today's talks with an open mind but fully 
conscious of the limitations imposed by the large trust 
deficit between the two countries.  In line with our 
graduated and step by step approach, our aims were modest: we 
had a useful discussion during which I spelt out forthrightly 
our concerns on terrorism emanating from Pakistan against 
India. I told my Pakistani counterpart that terrorism cannot 
advance any cause but the cause of senseless violence and 
that it is the solemn duty of states to eliminate all 
terrorist groups operating from their soil regardless of 
their ideology or agenda.  While acknowledging the steps 
taken so far by Pakistan to bring the Mumbai perpetrators to 
book, I pointed out these did not go far enough to unravel 
the full conspiracy behind the Mumbai attack and to award 
exemplary punishment to all culprits.  I stressed the 
importance of expeditious action by Pakistan on these issues 
including by following up on the leads that have emerged 
following the arrest in the US of David Coleman Headley and 
Tahawuur Hussain Rana.  It was pointed out that the Mumbai 
attack was a symptom of a larger problem - that of continued 
existence and unhindered activities of organizations such as 
Lashkar-e-Toiba/Jamaat ud Dawa, Hizb ul Mujahideen etc from 
Pakistani territory and territory under Pakistan's control to 
perpetrate  terrorist violence against India.  It was 
emphasized that the Government of India could not but take a 
serious note of such actions as it was duty bound to ensure 
the security of its citizens. 
 
At the same time, we said it was the duty of the Government 
of Pakistan to take effective action to dismantle and pit an 
end to the activities of such organizations.  The issue of 
terrorist infiltration and ceasefire violations across the 
line of control and international border was also taken up. 
We called upon Pakistan to investigate the claim made by a 
hitherto unknown organization, Lashkar-e-Toiba al Almi and a 
separate claim by Ilyas Kashmiri owning responsibility for 
the recent Pune blast.  Additional information on terrorist 
activities against India emanating from Pakistan was also 
handed over for investigation and appropriate action. 
 
Pakistan raised certain other issues and we responded 
appropriately, reiterating our national position on these 
issues. 
 
I told the Pakistani Foreign Secretary that we have all along 
believed in the approach to resolve all outstanding issues 
between the two countries through bilateral dialogue in an 
atmosphere free of terror and violence.  If we are to build 
upon the past discussion at an appropriate time, trust and 
confidence between us must be restored. 
 
We have set out to take a first step towards rebuilding trust 
and I believe my meeting with the Pakistani Foreign Secretary 
has constituted that first step.  We have agreed to remain in 
touch and continue endeavor to restore trust.  It was also 
decided to address urgent humanitarian issues. 
 
End Text of Statement. 
ROEMER