New Delhi:
Ahead of Home Minister P Chidambaram's visit to Pakistan, India has clarified that the doors for talks with Pakistan were never closed. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, however, remained non-committal on resumption of dialogue with it but said that talks with the country would only focus on terrorism.
"On talks with Pakistan, the doors were never shut," External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told reporters when asked whether the composite dialogue process with Pakistan was set to resume.
He made it clear that even in the previous dialogue with Pakistan, the focus had always been on terror and terror instrumentalities that exist there and had to be dismantled.
"Well, the focus has always been on terror and terror infrastructure in Pakistan. The terror infrastructure in Pakistan has been the focal point of dialogue with Pakistan and will continue to be the focal point," was Krishna's refrain when asked whether the Home Minister was scheduled to visit Islamabad.
On whether talks with Pakistan could also be held on other aspects of the Composite Dialogue, Krishna merely said that "It has always centred around terror".
Chidambaram had said on Monday that if he went to Pakistan for the SAARC meeting later this month, there was a possibility of bilateral talks.
India has suspended the Composite Dialogue with Pakistan since the 26/11 attacks, which it blamed on Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
And in response, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said, " I welcome the positive statements of Mr Chidambaram and Mr Krishna. The only logical way forward henceforth is engagement between India and Pakistan. You can't have two important neighbours not talking to each indefinitely. Neither India nor Pakistan are gaining from this disengagement; only the terrorists are. Pakistan has always been advocating the resumption of dialogue." (With PTI inputs)