India and Pakistan have agreed to resume structured dialogue

Seven years after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, India and Pakistan have agreed to resume structured dialogue between them. Announcing the breakthrough development, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said at a joint press conference in Islamabad, “We have decided to restart the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue. The dialogue that was earlier known as Composite Dialogue and later on known as Resumed Dialogue will now be known as the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue.” Ms. Swaraj added that the decision had come as a result of the talks on terror by the National Security Advisors in Bangkok on Sunday. In their joint statement, Ms. Swaraj and Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz “condemned terrorism and resolved to cooperate to eliminate it”. The joint statement also notes that Pakistan had given assurances on an “early completion of the Mumbai trial”. Earlier Ms. Swaraj and the Indian delegation comprising Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar and India’s envoys to Pakistan and Afghanistan called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at his office in Islamabad. The meeting, that had been scheduled only as a “courtesy call” as Ms. Swaraj was there to attend the Heart of Asia conference, ended up lasting well past an hour. “The atmosphere was very warm and friendly right from the start,” a senior official present in the room told The Hindu, adding that Ms. Swaraj referred to the fact that Mr. Sharif had maintained his commitment to dialogue between India and Pakistan ever since he had been elected Prime Minister. “She said repeatedly that PM Sharif’s sincerity was beyond doubt and appreciated his willingness to accept shortcomings and move ahead with the process.” In response, Mr. Sharif reportedly said that he was indeed committed to peace with India and that “no issue was off the table as far as he was concerned”.