BJP pats its back; not historic: Congress

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi's meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and its outcome on Friday evoked a mixed response with BJP seeing a "glimmer of light" in the bilateral relationship while Congress termed it as neither historic nor a breakthrough. Regional parties had a different take with the ruling PDP and opposition National Conference of Jammu and Kashmir welcoming the dialogue while Shiv Sena did not share its ally BJP's enthusiasm on the issue.

BJP spokesman M J Akbar said Pakistan has for the first time accepted India's "definition" of terrorism. "A word, an adjective is being used to describe the meeting which is 'breakthrough'. The reason for this is very clear... Perhaps there is a glimmer of light in the bilateral relationship. Perhaps there is an opportunity of taking the relationship forward," Akbar said.

For the first time, he said, Pakistan has accepted India's "definition of terrorism that terrorism in all its forms is unacceptable". That is a change from the "nuanced game" Pakistan has played on the subject by differentiating between "good and bad terrorists", he said. He also highlighted that Pakistan has agreed to expedite the trial of the accused in Mumbai terror case after pursuing for seven years its "barely disguised" policy of protecting terrorists charged with the crime.

"An important concession has been made by Pakistan," he said. Pakistan has also accepted the voice samples, recording of conversation between terrorists and their Pak-based handlers during the terror attack, provided by India, he said. However, Congress was quick to dismiss BJP's enthusiasm on the issue. Former Union Minister Anand Sharma said the outcome of the meeting was a dilution of India's long-held positions on terrorism and commitments extracted from Pakistan on the issue.

Accusing the Modi government of inconsistency in dealing with Pakistan, he said all the steps of PM Modi on Pakistan have been ill-advised as he has no clear policy on how to deal with it. Anand Sharma said claims of a breakthrough in talks were laughable and the PM has not disclosed as to what Sharif or Chinese President Xi Jinping told him on Bejing's support to Islamabad on the Zaki-ur Rahman Lakhvi issue in the UN.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the joint statement issued by India and Pakistan was a "step forward" in normalizing bilateral relations. He also said that meetings between the Border Security Force of India with its Pakistani counterpart would help stabilise the situation on the India-Pakistan border.

"Congress is of the constant view that there has to be constructive interaction with Pakistan provided that terror machinery is dismantled and perpetrators of Mumbai attack are brought to justice. The country is in the dark as to what assurance the government has got from Pakistan," he said. The government's engagements with Pakistan have been in fits and starts. While External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said in June that there would be no talks with Pakistan, the PM suddenly has a meeting with Sharif. There is no clarity or coherence in the government, he said.

"Engagement with Pakistan and our neighbours is important. But past commitments have not been honoured," he said. Sharma said Congress has strong objection to the joint statement issued after the meeting. "All evidence including voice samples have been given to Pakistan in the dossier. This statement is a departure and dilution. We would like to ask the PM why he conceded that we have not given evidence. This justifies Pakistan's intransigence on the trial of 26/11 perpetrators there," he said.

He also noted that there have been skirmishes on the border as late as Thursday. Both ruling PDP and National Conference welcomed the decision to revive the stalled Indo-Pak dialogue. PDP expressed hope that the two countries will also carry forward the Jammu and Kashmir-specific confidence building measures.