No great expectations from Krishna’s Islamabad visit

As foreign minister S M Krishna departs for Islamabad today to raise the level of dialogue with Pakistan, both sides seem to have muted expectations from the results, with no grand breakthrough expected in the largely adversarial relationship between the neighbours.

While Krishna will expectedly keep terrorism as its central focus in the minister-level talks with his counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistan has made it clear that there will be no return to the "composite dialogue". Instead, Pakistan prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday said he believed the two countries could start a "structured dialogue".

India's main idea seems to be resuming engagement with Pakistan and hope to insulate it from Pakistan-sponsored terror attacks. Officials said India was ready to discuss any issue that Pakistan cared to raise at the talks. However, India is certain to ask Pakistan for follow-up action on the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case. Home minister P Chidambaram has provided a whole host of information to Pakistan, including the results of David Headley's interrogation.

Some of the old 'confidence-building measures' - action on trade links and treatment of fishermen and prisoners - could be among the "deliverables" during this visit.

Though encouraged by the ''atmospherics'' of the 24 June foreign secretary-level talks, the Pakistan foreign office is keeping expectations low with the refrain that the aim would be to identify the doable and address the trust deficit. ''All issues will be discussed'' and Pakistan hopes the ministerial engagement will allow the two countries to engage in a sustained manner, foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said.

The atmosphere has certainly not been helped by the recent eruption in the Kashmir Valley over the last few days, when clashes between security forces and pro-independence protesters have left 14 civilians dead. Reports say the capital city of Srinagar is under an undeclared curfew.