Defence Day
Yaum-e-Difa'a, a lesson in
Urdu textbook for Class VII
published by the Punjab
Textbook Board Lahore
"While recognising the emergence of Pakistan on August 14, 1947, the Hindu politicians as well as the Hindu nation spared no effort to make it impossible for the nascent state to stand on its feet. Conspiracies were hatched against us. Canal waters were stopped. Muslim states of Hyderabad, Manawdar and Junagaddh were attacked. Part of our share of arms and funds in the partition plan was withheld. The purpose was to burden Pakistan's economy so much that it should fall on its face.

obituary
Always true to poetry, politics
A freedom fighter and a born rebel, Ajmal Khattak died on February 7, 2010
By Rahimullah Yusufzai
Fans of Mohammad Ajmal Khattak's poetry and prose used to say that he would have given a lot more to literature had he not spent so much time doing politics. They are probably right, but then he would not have become so well known.

Talking sense
Pakistan wants resumption of composite dialogue while India may focus on terrorism alone
By Shaiq Hussain
The Indian proposal of peace talks to Pakistan that came months after the break down of composite dialogue in November 2008 in the wake of Mumbai terrorist attacks has brought relief to people on both sides of border.

The heroic myths of subcontinent's Muslims prevail: they are pious, honest, brave and generous men; that an independent Pakistan was won by staunch Muslim freedom fighters fighting the wicked Hindu conspirators, that the Muslims are 'good' and others 'bad'… Whether this is an absurd reality or well-rooted fantasy, the fact is most of us believe in it and we will yell and scream, kick and scratch to keep it alive because our school textbooks will not let us think or do otherwise.

Take the lesson 'Youm-e-Difa'a (Defence Day) in the Class VII Urdu textbook published by the Punjab Textbook Board Lahore (see box for a translated version). The lesson raises some pertinent questions:

Does it glorify war? "After the 1965 war, there was a new awakening. Crimes like theft, robbery and extortion and social evils like bribery and nepotism became extinct… Family feuds turned into primordial love…"

Does it present a one-sided view? For instance the lesson further reads, "After 17 days Pakistan had captured 1,600 square miles of enemy territory." The other side (Indian) is perhaps beyond the ambit of the state curriculum and our very own interpretation of history.

This kind of criticism is likely to raise many eyebrows. But historian Dr Mubarak Ali agrees, "First of all why reinforce September 6 as the Defence Day when the reality is quite reverse. This concept is factually wrong. In the 1965 war, Pakistanis were in fact the perpetrators of war. We sent insurgents to Kashmir and India's offensive in Lahore was in retaliation to incidents in Kashmir. So, in my view September 6 should not be celebrated as the Defence Day at all."

He points out some factual errors in the lesson: Citing, "The Indian military indiscriminately bombed and shelled the peaceful and innocent citizens of Pakistan", he says, "Now there was no bombardment in the cities. This statement therefore is factually incorrect".

Evaluating the chapter further, he states, "Personally I am against the concept of the narration of war in textbooks. Why glorify war? Why use war to inspire people? I find this to be highly objectionable." Although this, he admits, is a universal phenomenon yet he believes, "We must fight against this kind of a mindset. War is not a blessing as is projected in this lesson and the rest of the book, it's a disaster."

Basically, historical events and personalities have become mythical and heroic under the pen of our so-called curriculum designers. The prescribed state-run school textbooks, experts say, foster hate and intolerance, and distort the worldview. This mindset is promoted through Social Studies (history, geography and civic), Islamiyat and Urdu alike as there's tremendous overlapping and reinforcement of topics – one lesson is predominantly covered in different board publications, in several subjects and in English and Urdu languages. Our national heroes are war heroes. Sadly, the evaluation system encourages the young minds to rote memorize these teachings and, as eminent educationist Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy has pointed, to develop an "extremist ideology".

Educationist Rubina Saigol believes that textbooks are written with a definite political purpose. "The foundational myths of Pakistan centre around absolute difference between two communities – Hindus and Muslims – who never shared anything in common, were forever enemies and never in the future will become one nation. Pakistan's national tale is a tale of two nations.

"After the creation of Pakistan, the past had to be retold based on this overriding national objective. So that one country composed of different linguistic communities, nations etc could be homogenized on the basis of religion. Also, such events and heroes, incidents and facts were selected that fitted within the accepted national story. Thus emerged a cleansed and sanitised tale of heroic but victimised and suffering Muslims; faced with the constant threat from the cunning and deceitful Hindus."

But, she says, the description of this difference does not tell us anything about either civilization. The differences in their conception, philosophies and literatures are not elaborated upon as the intention seems to be to emphasize the difference but not how they are different. Detailed knowledge of the enemy is missing – at least at the primary and middle level. "Therefore, right from the beginning of the educational ladder, children's memory is shaped in the binary mould by suppressing the multiplicity of voices that form part of the discourse," she stresses.

Dr Ali elaborates, "The enemy concept is a development by the ruling classes." He has observed the paradigm shift in the curriculum over the years. "Our textbooks of the pre-1965 era carried stories of valour and bravery of freedom fighters and politicians. After 1965, war heroes entered the textbooks and, as the years progressed, romancing the war and its heroes persisted.

"To believe an enemy and a conspirator exists, is deliberate -- because it helps to elevate the image of the army and justify the defense expenditure. Today, the army is perceived as a saviour," he maintains.

Over the years, scholars, researchers and educationists have pointed out flaws in the curriculum repeatedly. They have warned against national school curricula inciting hatred (read the spirit of jihad) against the enemies of Islam and schools being terrorist factories. Some of their concerns though have been addressed in the new curricula, which to some extent minimise the vilification of enemies of the State (and thus Islam). "The revised curricula though were unable to completely eradicate the Hindu-Muslim divide found in our textbooks. Some portrayals and caricatures had to be kept because of the nationalist ideology of the country," says physicist A H Nayyar.

On the brighter side however, Pakistan history, according to the new directives, will not begin with the first Muslim who set foot in India, instead will include studies of Indus Valley Civilisation, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, and of the ancient Maurya and Gupta dynasties. But the hurdle, says A H Nayyar, is the publishing of the new textbooks based on the revised curricula -- "There is unexplainable delay on the provincial boards' part".

It seems until the new books are published, we will continue to fuel myths based on historical error. It is certainly important to teach the young generation about history. But a first essential step in history education is to make their young minds think about how we can live peacefully with the neighbouring nation. Surely, classrooms are not places to play up disputes. If the state textbooks are contributing to frictions between the two countries, it should be stopped.

The popular image of cricket statisticians depicts them as bespectacled, round-shouldered figures hunched over their pads and scoring sheets as they gaze out, unblinkingly, at the playing field.

Gul Hameed Bhatti – who died aged only 63 years in Karachi – stubbornly refused to fit this stereotype. The undisputed doyen of cricket statisticians and scorers in the country, and the founder of a society for them, he remained for much of his life a big, jovial man, able to talk with gusto on many things of life. Through his career as arguably the best cricket writer Pakistan has produced, and with an analytical ability to assess every aspect of the game, he imparted even to the columns of figures he so loved, a life quite their own. The score-sheets he filled out, in a distinct hand neater than type, were a work of art in itself. He had also created an extensive, and unique database on domestic cricket and had been maintaining it right until his death.

As the man who in the early 1970s left Lahore to take on a role as the editor of 'The Cricketer' magazine, and introduce to it a spirit that made it the top-selling sports magazine of the time, he retained through his life a love for cricket, and indeed for most who, like him, lived for the sport. Indeed, he had flirted briefly with a career as a pilot before abandoning it for the sake of cricket. As mentor to many of the younger cricket writers and statisticians, he demanded professional excellence but always made his point through humour and the easy wit that seems to have travelled with him aboard the train he took from Lahore to Karachi, the city he made his home.

It was here too that Gul Hameed Bhatti proved he was far more than a sports writer alone. In 1978, he married journalist Razia Bondray, then the editor of the 'Herald'. This in itself took courage – given that the soft spoken but iron-willed Razia was – and remained till her tragic death in 1996, a courageous figure who simply refused to cave in to pressure. She faced plenty of it. Forced to leave the 'Herald' during the era of General Ziaul Haq, she set up 'Newsline' against enormous odds. Eventually, here too she found herself up against authority and politicians with no tolerance for dissent. Gul's unstinting support for his wife and his respect for her professionalism were known to all who knew the couple. Indeed, he perhaps never recovered completely from her sudden death due to brain haemorrhage. There were of course moments of laughter, moments of delight – but somewhere a gap remained that never completely filled.

Gul Hameed Bhatti served a stint as editor of The News in Karachi. As he himself told many, it was a job he quite quickly decided he did not enjoy – opting to move back to his post as Group Sports Editor. He wrote, through the years, on many sports other than cricket, but there can be little doubt that his passion for that game rode above his interest in others. Indeed, with the Pakistan Cricket Board, he remained involved with the sport in several ways, as a member of the committee for the Cricketer of the Year Award, and often as an informal advisor on other issues. He had also taken on a role as expert analyst on several sports talk shows. Proposals for a tournament in his honour are already coming in. We must hope they materialise into something concrete and perhaps be turned into an annual event.

As a man who had so often seemed so much larger than life itself, as one part of a couple that through the 1980s and 1990s were delightful hosts and as the voice of cricket for over three decades, it is almost impossible to accept that Gul Hameed Bhatti is no more. He had survived a bad bout with cancer some years ago, but despite being shaken had been able to bounce back. Illness though had, tragically, returned to his life. At the anniversary for 'Newsline' a few months ago, which he bravely attended as a tribute to his late wife, he was quite obviously in extremely poor health. His death brings an end to a life that has known both the heights of joy, and pain. It leaves also a vacuum that indeed will be very hard to fill for an extremely long time to come.

Yaum-e-Difa'a, a lesson in

Urdu textbook for Class VII

published by the Punjab

Textbook Board Lahore

"While recognising the emergence of Pakistan on August 14, 1947, the Hindu politicians as well as the Hindu nation spared no effort to make it impossible for the nascent state to stand on its feet. Conspiracies were hatched against us. Canal waters were stopped. Muslim states of Hyderabad, Manawdar and Junagaddh were attacked. Part of our share of arms and funds in the partition plan was withheld. The purpose was to burden Pakistan's economy so much that it should fall on its face.

The biggest conspiracy was the illegal occupation of Kashmir. When all its machinations in the Muslim-majority state failed, India's expansionist ambition propelled it to the Lahore front. On the September 5-6 night, the enemy attacked in violation of the sanctity of international borders and without a declaration of war. The enemy believed that by attacking while the Pakistani people slept, it could succeed in its designs. Little did it realise that we are a nation alive and alert.

Addressing the nation at 12 noon on September 6, Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan said: "The Indian rulers still do not recognise the kind of people they have challenged. The 100 million people whose hearts resound with 'There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet' will not sit still until they have silenced the enemy guns for good. The people of Pakistan will fight as one man with full confidence and faith in the fairness of their objective. They will trust in Allah Who has promised victory to the just."

Our enemy trusted the greater number of its troops and the abundance of arms while we trusted divine protection and support and our commitment to fight for justice. The result was the same as every battle in history between justice and tyranny. The enemy opened many fronts. In the Sialkot-Chawinda sector, particularly there was unprecedented fighting. It witnessed the biggest tank battle since the World War II. The enemy pushed 600 tanks in the sector. With the grace of God our valiant fighters turned Chawinda into a graveyard of Indian tanks. The sons of Iqbal's city wrote a new chapter in the history of the brave. Many tied explosives to their bodies and lay in front of Indian tanks thereby destroying the tanks and as martyrs gaining eternal life.

The Indian military indiscriminately bombed and shelled the peaceful and innocent citizens of Pakistan. Akashvani and BBC started false rumours of Indian occupation of Lahore. But Pakistan came to be recognised in the world as the land of a brave and honourable people.

Truth be told, it was in the 17-day war that Pakistan's Air Force, Army and Navy as well as its people became truly aware of their capability. The Pak land not just survived, it also struck so hard at the enemy that it was forced to demand ceasefire at the United Nations.

The war had many bright aspects. There was a new awakening. Crimes like theft, robbery and extortion social evils like bribery and nepotism became extinct. The citizens rushed to help the displaced, sheltered them and shared whatever they had with them. The blood banks were always crowded with voluntary donors. The people made generous contributions to the Defence Fund. Family feuds turned into primordial love. In short, the sentiment first witnessed in 1947 was revived. The individuals developed a nationalistic outlook.

Our handful of soldiers had brought low the false enemy pride. Risking their lives, our committed soldiers had demoralised the enemy. The enemy panicked and retreated abandoning its bunkers, armaments, territory and settlements. After 17 days, Pakistan had captured 1,600 square miles of enemy territory. Our martyrs and victors had re-enacted the passion of Badr and Hunain.

For six days Major Raja Aziz Bhatti continuously watched the enemy movement in the Wagha-Attari sector and directed the fire destroying the enemy tanks and guns refusing to rest or take a break for a meal. A senior officer warned him against wearing himself out but Aziz Bhatti's patriotism prevailed in the end persuading him to let the major remain at the post where he was eventually hit in the shoulder by an artillery shell and fatally wounded.

Bhatti was the only officer conferred the Nishan-i-Haider in the 1965 war. Many officers and men were conferred the Tamgh-i-Shujaat (the Badge of Valour), the Sitar-i-Juraat (the Star of Valour) and Hilal-i-Juraat (the Crescent of Valour).

Our Air Force really ruled the skies. As many as 117 planes of the Indian Air Force were destroyed. Our Shaheen 'eagles' dominated the skies. Indian air bases at Pathankot, Hulwara and Jam Pur were routine targets of Pakistani bombers. MM Alam, flying a Saber aircraft, created a world record when he downed six enemy planes in a single dogfight.

Our Navy, for its part, ensured the safety of our seas and the coast besides crippling the Indian Navy's Dawarka base.

The nation remembers its brave defence of the country every year. Newspapers print special supplements and there are special broadcasts from radio and television.

In short, the Sixth of September inspires us afresh with a patriotic passion. This day we re-dedicate ourselves to its defence and pray for its safety. May Allah the Most High forever protect it.

Translated by Ata Musawwir Pirzada

Fans of Mohammad Ajmal Khattak's poetry and prose used to say that he would have given a lot more to literature had he not spent so much time doing politics. They are probably right, but then he would not have become so well known.

Ajmal Khattak the politician contributed to the fame of Ajmal Khattak the poet and vice-versa. Otherwise, there are scores of Pashto poets and writers who deserve fame and appreciation, but who remain unsung and die largely unknown.

By the time he died at the age of 85, Ajmal Khattak had proved his versatility. He began his career as a teacher at a government school and then moved on to journalism. But his true vocations were poetry and politics. He was barely 13 when he read his Pashto poetry at a mushaira and earned applause. And he was still a teenager when he took part in political processions during the Quit India Movement against the British colonial rule and got rusticated from his school. Later in life he completed his education by qualifying for his master's degree in Persian.

Ajmal Khattak led such an eventful life that it is difficult to keep track of all his activities. He composed poetry and wrote prose in both Pashto and Urdu. He did active journalism in dailies such as Anjam and Shahbaz and wrote columns on political and social issues. For a time he served as a scriptwriter at Radio Pakistan Peshawar. During this period, he had to follow the state-run radio station's policy and write scripts critical of the Afghan government. But then a time came in the 1970s that Ajmal Khattak, while living in self-exile in Afghanistan, championed the Pakhtunistan cause and made speeches from Radio Kabul criticising the Pakistan government.

Some of his critics have mentioned these examples to show the contradictions in his life and political career. He was also accused of raising false hopes among the Pashtun youth by promising them that he would come from Afghanistan with a "red dholi." It meant that he would lead a red revolution from his exile in Afghanistan and influence events in Pakistan, particularly among the Pashtuns.

However, these accusations failed to dent Ajmal Khattak's popularity. His sacrifices, honesty, simplicity and dedication to the cause of the poor and downtrodden endeared him to his people. He was a freedom fighter and a born rebel who suffered imprisonment, torture in custody and financial losses. Despite remaining a member of the National Assembly and the Senate, he continued to live in his three-room house in his hometown Akora Khattak. Unlike other politicians who often make money after getting elected to the parliament and find lucrative jobs for their children and relatives, he didn't indulge in such vices and instead focused on his work as lawmaker and devoted time to political causes and literary pursuits.

The leadership of the late Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan's Khudai Khidmatgar movement and its successor organisations such as National Awami Party and Awami National Party had remained in the hands of Bacha Khan and his family, represented subsequently by Khan Abdul Wali Khan and now Asfandyar Wali Khan. But such was the family's trust in Ajmal Khattak and so high was his status as a clean and committed politician that he was chosen to lead the party twice as president. And Ajmal Khattak was welcomed back into the ANP when he mended fences with Wali Khan after having broken away along with a group of party activists in 2000 to form the National Awami Party Pakistan. It is said General Pervez Musharraf encouraged Ajmal Khattak to form his own party in a meeting that created waves as he was the first politician whom the military ruler had met after staging the coup against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government in October 1999.

Despite his political responsibilities, Ajmal Khattak found time to author 24 books. His first book of Pashto poetry, "Da Ghairat Chagha" (The call of honour), was published in 1952. And his last book, again a collection of his Pashto poetry, was published in August 2009 when he was ill. It was titled, "Da Spin Ghar Da Sara" (From the top of the White Mountain. He authored five books in Urdu, wrote dramas in Pashto, and penned a history of Pashto language and literature. Some of his Pashto poetry was translated into Urdu by late Urdu and Hindko scholar Prof Khatir Ghaznavi. Ajmal Khattak's poetry and prose is highly rated and critics praise his contribution as path-breaking because he was among the first Pashto poets who wrote about the plight and rights of the peasants and workers and highlighted the need for a revolution.

It was on March 23, 1973 that Ajmal Khattak decided to leave Pakistan and escape to Afghanistan after the opposition's public meeting in Liaquat Bagh was fired at and several NAP workers were killed before his eyes. On that fateful day, he felt it was no longer possible for Pashtuns and members of other smaller nationalities to live as equal partners in Punjab-dominated Pakistan. For the next 16 years, he lived in self-exile in Afghanistan. However, times changed and Ajmal Khattak not only returned home and reconciled with the Pakistani state, but was also subsequently elected to the parliament and performed his role as a patriotic lawmaker.

DIG Malakand, Mohammad Idrees Khan took over the Malakand police command when the division was struck with militancy and military operation was underway to eliminate the terrorist network. Before him, the slot was offered to many senior officers who refused to head the volatile range. The News on Sunday talked to him about the troubled division.

TNS: Do you feel that people of Swat and Malakand can move anytime anywhere now or the situation is yet to return to normalcy?

Mohammad Idrees Khan: There is no curfew in any part of the six districts of Malakand range, which include Swat, Dir Lower, Dir Upper, Shangla, Buner and Chitral. People can move even late in the night to any part of the division without any fear or problem. Apart from the Pakistan Army, the cops of Frontier Police are there in every part to take care of them. They have been just advised to keep their original national identity card with them. This is because of the law and order situation that 80 percent of the local populace had returned to their native towns to resume the routine life.

TNS: What steps have been taken to bring back police on duty that had deserted after the Malakand division, especially Swat district, was struck by the militancy?

MIK: When I took over the Malakand range in July last year, there were only 434 policemen left on duty due to the large-scale desertion. There was no traffic police. I encouraged those who were performing duty despite all the threats of being bombed, beheaded and burnt alive. They were given permanent and shoulder promotions in a bid to acknowledge their bravery. I went to the remote posts and sat with them to boost up their morale.

Today we have 2,000 policemen along with 3,700 men of the special police force and 660 ex-soldiers only in Swat town. The traffic police are back on roads and for the first time policewomen are also performing duty. A total of around 7,000 special police officers have been recruited on two-year contract basis from the local population to assist the regular police. They are being given Rs10,000 per month as salary. We introduced aggressive policing. When the terrorists killed a class-IV employee of the local police, we promptly raided the houses of the culprits and gunned them down to give a strong message to the terrorists that police is no more defensive.

TNS: Do you feel the Malakand and Swat police are equipped enough to counter terrorism?

MIK: The force was having a poor communication system which used to fail in some areas. Now we have installed improved communication system. We have got more patrolling cars, 12 armoured personnel carriers and other sophisticated gadgetry that was direly needed. Now all the policemen are properly secure by having bulletproof jackets and helmets. The force for the first time has got night vision goggles, explosive and metal detectors to improve its performance.

TNS: What steps have been taken to improve the infrastructure of police in Malakand, especially the most affected Swat?

MIK: Before the military operation, Swat had only nine police stations that were divided in two sub divisions. Now we have 16 police stations and 7 sub-divisions, having five more DSPs and seven more SHOs with their new offices. A large number of new police posts have been established even in areas where there was no presence of the force in the recent past. We established regional special investigation units (RSIUs) to improve the intelligence and information system at the police station level. This has done wonders in our information collecting system.

We also posted the right man in the right place. Earlier constables used to cook food and wash clothes for themselves after returning from jobs, but now we have appointed two cooks and washermen for every police station as well as a gardener at sub division level. Also, the army deployed here has imparted training to our cops to improve their skills which played an important role in boosting their confidence.

TNS: The main casualty of the militancy remained education. Do you feel people especially girls have returned to their schools and colleges in Swat and Malakand.

MIK: Realising the importance of education, we established a special security wing (SSW) to protect the local schools and colleges from future terrorist attacks. Today, boys and girls are attending their schools and colleges as they did before the militancy.

TNS: Do you feel that whatever has been done for the families of the martyred policemen is enough?

MIK: We have ensured that families of the martyred policemen are properly looked after. I have visited several of these families. We had arranged a function last month, which was presided over by the son of a martyred policeman, Sarfaraz Khan. Another function was presided over by a constable where a local poet recited a 14-page poem to eulogise the sacrifices of local policemen. We also observed the Martyrs Day while several squares, public places, police stations and police posts have been named after martyred cops. The main Green Chowk also known as Khooni (blood) Chowk for hanging policemen, dancers and civilians there has been renamed as Farooq Shaheed Chowk.

TNS: What steps have been taken by the government for the welfare of the victim families?

MIK: Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti and IGP Malik Naveed were kind enough to visit Swat several times to encourage our force and the families of martyred cops. The compensation money has also been increased from Rs500,000 to Rs three million, besides giving full salary of the slain cop to the family till the age of 60 and a residential plot. We have also recruited sons of slain cops in police force.

TNS: Swat and parts of Malakand were once known all over the world for its picturesque points. Have the local police taken measures to provide security to tourists?

MIK: There is no problem of security in any part of Swat and we assure the tourists that they should not worry about their security while visiting the beautiful valley. They can go anywhere to recall the sweet memories of their past visits to this scenic valley. The local hotels association had recently offered free stay for 20 days in Kalam, Madyan and Bahrain to attract tourists. A musical function, two literary gatherings and a sports festival were also organised recently for this purpose. The cinemas of the city are open.

The Indian proposal of peace talks to Pakistan that came months after the break down of composite dialogue in November 2008 in the wake of Mumbai terrorist attacks has brought relief to people on both sides of border.

Though Pakistan has responded positively, it wants a "meaningful" dialogue on Kashmir, water issue, security related matters and other problems. Pakistan has also made it clear that it would rather prefer the resumption of stalled composite dialogue and not just restrict the talks to terrorism.

Nonetheless, the offer of talks by India has also raised some serious questions like how productive will these negotiations be this time. Islamabad and New Delhi failed to make any progress on Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, Wullar Barrage or any other issue on the eight-point agenda of composite dialogue that started back in 2004. Another consideration is: what is the guarantee that any fresh act of terror on Indian soil will not lead to derailment of peace process once again.

According to diplomatic circles in Islamabad, the Indian talks offer is the result of silent but effective efforts by the Obama administration, which sees a key role for Islamabad in the coming months to help Washington negotiate with Taliban. Before coming up with this offer, New Delhi was urging Islamabad to convict those behind the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai that left over 170 people dead and also to crack down on alleged terrorism cells if it wants the restoration of peace process.

An official at Foreign Office, requesting anonymity, told TNS the focus of Obama administration was on the shared frontier of Pakistan and Afghanistan where it believes al-Qaeda and the Taliban have their biggest base and hideouts, and that is why the US is keen to lower tension on the Indo-Pak border. He said that easing of tension, according to the US administration, would enable redeployment of many a Pakistani troops currently deployed on eastern border to the Pak-Afghan border a move that would also help secure peace in this volatile region in the coming years when the United States would start moving its forces out of Afghanistan.

India has offered February 18 and 25 as possible dates for the meeting of the two foreign secretaries to work out agenda for future talks.

The official added Pakistan wanted the Indians to agree to the restart of composite dialogue that involves Kashmir and all other contentious issues. "If India is serious and it means business, there could be a fruitful engagement osn all bilateral issues. But, if it only wants to please Washington and its western partners, then there could be two or three useless sittings between the diplomats of two states leading to nowhere," the official maintained.

During the talks, he added, Pakistan would also seek New Delhi's assurance that it would not unilaterally suspend the peace process in case of a new terrorist attack by "non-state actors" on the Indian soil.

To evolve Pakistan's formal response, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry held a crucial interministerial meeting on Wednesday last. The meeting, chaired by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was also attended by officials of Interior Ministry, intelligence agencies and diplomats.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit, in his brief comments after the consultations, said the meeting reaffirmed the commitment of Pakistan to enter into a meaningful and result-oriented composite dialogue process with India for peace and stability in South Asia.

Another official privy to the meeting said Pakistani ambassador to India, Shahid Malik, told the participants India was willing to talk to Pakistan on all outstanding issue, including the core issue of Kashmir. He said the meeting recommended to the government that talks with India should be held soon with open mind and without conditions.

However, he said, it was also recommended that the ultimate goal for Pakistani officials should be the revival of the structured talks that the two sides had been holding before Mumbai attacks under the framework of composite dialogue.

The interministerial meeting was followed by a meeting at the Presidency with President Asif Ali Zardari, Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiani and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi among the participants. The meeting gave go-ahead for talks with India with focus on Kashmir and water issues.

Noted analyst Dr. Hasan Askari viewed there could be more than one explanation for the Indian proposal to hold talks with Pakistan after refusing the same for months. He said India had been under pressure by the US, UK and the European Union to ease military pressure on Pakistan.

"I think they (Indians) have been resisting this pressure all along, but now they may have decided otherwise. Even in India there is a debate whether hostility with Pakistan would force it to take action against militants or negotiations would convince Pakistan in this regard," he opined. He said Indians had realised that Pakistan continued to carry weight as an important country as far as Afghanistan was concerned.

"Pakistan wants to go back to the composite dialogue and India perhaps wants to focus on terrorism. To me the first important thing would be that they agree on the talks' framework and also start talking on all contentious issues," he stated.

Askari concluded there was no guarantee the talks would not get derailed in case of any fresh terrorist attack in India, because the Indian government would get under intense pressure to stop talking to Pakistan.