“Engagement with Pakistan a very rational decision”

Nirupama Rao

Disengagement with Pakistan is not an option India should consider, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told a group of researchers, academics, journalists and public servants here.

Engagement with Pakistan “is not a signal of helplessness but a very rational decision and that's the best way forward for our people,” she said during a speech at the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI).

Ms. Rao is on a two-day visit to France for consultations with her counterpart, Pierre Sellal. On Friday, she also called on Jean-David Levitte, President Nicolas Sarkozy's diplomatic Sherpa, for “free and frank” discussions, during which she raised India's concerns over cross-border terrorism, Afghanistan, regional issues and bilateral cooperation as well as developments in West Asia, especially Libya and Syria.

On Friday, there were three rounds of talks at the Foreign Office, with discussions centring on the G20, international governance, disarmament, the reform of the U.N. system and issues pertaining to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Doha Round. A second session focussed on the regional situation, especially Afghanistan and Pakistan, while a third featured exchanges on the situation in North Africa, Libya and Syria.

Ms. Rao's visit comes at a time of increasing French distrust and suspicion of Pakistan. Bernard Squarcini, head of France's interior security agency, the DCRI, on Friday expressed concern over the rising number of young Frenchmen heading for Pakistani terrorist training camps: “Yes, there are French citizens in jihadist camps in Pakistan. We are certain of the presence of some 20-odd French fighters there. They are part of the threats faced by France and Europe and their numbers are increasing. We are trying to stop them from stepping back on the nation's soil.”

Mr. Squarcini made these remarks in the midst of growing calls in France for disengagement from Afghanistan and criticism of Pakistan.

Asked whether in the light of the recent events India should disengage with Pakistan, Ms. Rao said: “Should we be engaging with Pakistan in the face of all that's happened? I don't think that's relevant in the context of India and Pakistan. With such a long, contentious, complex and conflictual relationship, the way forward is to ensure that dialogue takes place between the two countries in order to resolve outstanding issues despite the concern in India about the threat of terrorism from Pakistan. We have to engage with Pakistan. So the issue of disengagement as being suggested by many in the U.S. Congress or elsewhere does not seem logical at all.”

Two-pronged strategy

The substantive message Ms. Rao conveyed to her French counterpart was that India was determined to pursue a two-pronged strategy with Pakistan — that of dialogue coupled with a demand for justice for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and a dismantling of Pakistan's terror network.

“Geography is destiny. Pakistan is our neighbour and we wish to engage with Pakistan on a whole spectrum of issues which concern the normalisation of relations between the two countries. But the issue of terrorism is very important and sanctuaries and safe havens for terrorism on Pakistani territory have caused suffering not only in India and our region but it has also turned against Pakistan itself today. So I hope the Pakistani leadership will understand that and we see a change in the days to come,” she said during her talk at IFRI.

After several years of trying to walk the tightrope between India and Pakistan, France appears to have realised it is time to jettison its policy of maintaining equilibrium between the two warring nations and plump for India. This became amply clear in the somewhat cold and expeditive manner in which Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was received in Paris.

President Sarkozy has been particularly vocal in his support of India, and France now sees India as a vital strategic partner, perhaps not part of its first circle of interest, but a strong partner nevertheless.

The enlargement of the G8 to the G20 was largely the result of President Sarkozy's efforts and the political relationship between the two countries has rarely been so good. That said, massive contracts are on the table including the sale of six EPR nuclear reactors, several armaments contracts including for 126 multi-role combat aircraft and civilian aircraft and France sees India as a strong source of future revenue.

Afghanistan issue

To a question on India's presence in Afghanistan and Pakistani attempts to diminish that role, Ms. Rao said: “Yes, Pakistan has a certain view of India's role in Afghanistan, something that we have stoutly sought to refute. We are not going to abandon Afghanistan and this is something our partners — the French, the Americans — understand very well. So I do not see our role in Afghanistan being diminished or being sought to be diminished by what happened in Abbottabad a few days ago.”