NEW DELHI: President Asif Ali Zardari enjoyed a sumptuous lunch here on Sunday with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before offering prayers at the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, but his daylong officially ‘private’ visit to India ended with a tame nudge from the hosts who effectively asked him — in a departure from a recent Hollywood script ‘Eat, Pray and Love’ — to work more to win their love.
“The leaders discussed the problem of terrorism which is a major issue by which the Indian people will judge progress in bilateral relationship,” Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said plainly after a 40-minute meeting the two men had without aides.
Reports quoted ubiquitous unnamed sources and did brisk business. One such claimed that Dr Singh had “made it clear” to Mr Zardari that action needs to be taken against controversial cleric Hafiz Saeed and other alleged perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks.
In the past, Indian and Pakistani leaders have been double-guessed by their ‘systems’, and Dr Singh was virtually made to eat his words for accepting the Pakistani suggestion to include Balochistan when he signed a joint declaration with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Sharm al Sheikh. Several documented promises, including the reopening of consulates in Karachi and Mumbai are hanging fire.
Dr Singh told Mr Zardari that it was “imperative” to bring the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks to justice and prevent activities aimed against India from Pakistani soil.
“In this context, the prime minister also mentioned the activities of Hafiz Saeed,” according to Mr Mathai.
On the Saeed issue, Mr Zardari said that the matter needed to be discussed further between the two governments.
The leaders noted that interior secretaries of the two sides were to meet shortly and they would discuss this issue further. Mr Zardari mentioned the need for all issues, including Sir Creek, Siachen and Kashmir to be addressed, Mr Mathai said. “Both felt that we need to move forward step-by-step.”
With regard to his pet theme, the Indian prime minister appreciated the steps taken by Pakistan to take trade ties forward by moving to the negative list regime.
Earlier, Dr Singh said the two countries were willing to find “practical, pragmatic” solutions to a “number of issues” affecting the bilateral relationship. “I and President Zardari had constructive and friendly exchanges of views on bilateral issues which affect relationship between India and Pakistan,” Dr Singh said.
“I am very satisfied with the outcome of this visit,” he said. “We have a number of issues and we are willing to find practical and pragmatic solutions to all those issues and that is the message President Zardari and I would wish to convey,” Dr Singh said.
We have had “very fruitful” bilateral talks, said Mr Zardari, who also hoped to meet the Indian leader on Pakistani soil very soon. “I would be very happy to visit Pakistan on a mutually convenient date,” Dr Singh said.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik described his meeting with Indian counterpart P. Chidambaram as productive and said the presidential trip would be a milestone in India-Pakistan ties.
PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who accompanied his father, had a friendly chat during the lunch with Congress party scion Rahul Gandhi with the latter accepting an invitation to visit Pakistan.
The sources said that at a meeting before lunch at Dr Singh’s 7 Race Course Road residence, both leaders agreed that the issue of Sir Creek could be solved soon. The two countries have been close to a solution for years on the disputed 96-km creek that opens into the Arabian Sea and divides Kutch in India’s Gujarat and Sindh province in Pakistan.
Dr Singh reportedly offered to help with the rescue operation in Siachen where more than a hundred Pakistan troops have been buried in an avalanche. Mr Zardari will convey the offer to the military.
Pakistan’s president and his son, who made a nice impression here, much like his mother when she accompanied her father to Shimla in 1972, offered prayers at Ajmer before flying home from Jaipur, thus winding up the globally watched visit.
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