JOIN US Details of the meeting between Kerry, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Gilani on February 16 have been communicated in a confidential cable from the US embassy in Islamabad, which was leaked by WikiLeaks.
During the meeting, Kerry said that in light of the February 13 bombings in Pune, politicians in India were focused on counter-terrorism.
“And as such he suggested that Pakistan present the Indian government with its plan to tackle terrorism,” the cable said.
Kerry told Gilani that this would be a clear “confidence builder” that would make India more willing to move forward in talks about Kashmir and water disputes. According to the cable, Gilani agreed to present Kerry’s proposal to the Pakistani leadership.
“He was amenable to the idea of a rapprochement in the India-Pakistan relation, but expressed concern that the public would not support the idea,” the cable said.
The two leaders are appeared to have discussed at length the India-Pak relationship.
Gilani indicated that Pakistan was willing to resume talks with the Indian government and pointed to the February 25 meeting between Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan as evidence of such.
Gilani, however, noted that in order to gain public support for this process, the US had to “treat India and Pakistan equally.” “He added that India would need to gain Pakistan’s trust and indicated that reducing the Indian footprint in Afghanistan and halting Indian support of militants in Balochistan would be steps in the right direction,” the cable noted.