This story is from September 17, 2006

Manmohan, Mush agree to fight terror jointly

Meeting on the margins of the NAM summit, Manmohan and Musharraf decided on the early resumption of foreign secretary-level talks as part of the composite dialogue.
Manmohan, Mush agree to fight terror jointly
HAVANA: PM Manmohan Singh and Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf agreed on Saturday to set up a joint mechanism to counter terrorism at the end of an hour-long meeting which thawed the chill that had set into India-Pakistan relations since the recent blasts in Mumbai.
Meeting on the margins of the NAM summit here, the two leaders decided, as reported by TOI on Friday, on the early resumption of foreign secretary-level talks as part of the composite dialogue. They stated that the “peace process must be maintained”.
The setting up of the anti-terrorism mechanism marks a new element in the outcome, which broadly mirrored what had been agreed upon in the understanding the two had reached on April 18, 2005. The joint statement, read out by the PM, said: “The two leaders met in the aftermath of the Mumbai blasts. They strongly condemned all acts of terrorism and agreed terrorism is a scourge that needs to be effectively dealt with. They decided to put in place an India-Pakistan anti-terrorism institutional mechanism to identify and implement counter-terrorism initiatives and investigations.”
The proposed mechanism may serve as the chief justification for India going back to the negotiating table with Pakistan. But the effectiveness of such a mechanism will remain in question in view of the Musharraf regime’s track record as well as the disconnect between the two sides on what constitutes terrorism.
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