[Reader-list] 'It was a serious mistake to hold talks with Pak'

[Sanjay Khak]

 'It was a serious mistake to hold talks with Pak'
*INDIAN EXPRESS*
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*Agencies <http://www.indianexpress.com/columnist/agencies/>*
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*NEW DELHI*

Noting that Pakistan had done nothing on 26/11 case, former National
Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra today said the government had made a
"serious mistake" by holding talks and these were "bound to fail".

Mishra also attacked External Affairs Minister S M Krishna for not defending
Home Secretary G K Pillai when he was attacked by Pakistan Foreign Minister
Shah Mahmood Qureshi during their joint press conference in Islamabad on
July 16.

The talks were "bound to fail" as there were elements in both India and
Pakistan who were not very happy with the way talks had been arranged, he
told in an interview.

"There have been problems both on our side and on

Pakistani side. It is now fairly well known that even the government was
divided on the issue of undertaking talks with Pakistan without Pakistan
having done anything on terrorism," he said.

Asked if it was a "serious mistake" on government's part to resume dialogue
with Pakistan, Mishra said, "most certainly it was. Pakistan has done
literally nothing against those responsible for carrying out 26/11 Mumbai
attacks."

He added that the government should not have held talks, particularly if it
knew about the involvement of Pakistan's armed forces' personnel in the
Mumbai attack.

"Where was the need to go and talk to the civilian authorities when you know
that armed forces are not going to allow any kind of forward movement,"
asked Mishra who was NSA during the NDA government.

"Even within the Congress party, there have been differing voices" on
holding talks with Pakistan, he said, noting that Pakistani armed forces
wanted the tension between the two countries to continue while part of the
civil establishment wanted to move forward.

He said unless Pakistan goes back to the commitment made by General Parvez
Musharraf to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that terrorism and
dialogue can't go together, "there is no point in talking to Pakistan."

On Qureshi's attack on Pillai, Mishra said, "When the External Affairs
Minister goes abroad, he is not representing himself, he is representing a
billion people and if a billion people are going to be put in shame..it is
your duty unless you had agreed with him in private."

He said he was "surprised" that Krishna did not contradict Qureshi.

On whether he viewed it as a serious mistake, Mishra said "yes".

On Krishna's invitation Quershi for further talks, Mishra said, "(this is)
absolutely wrong."