Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan are scheduled to meet on July 15 to resume the process of talks between the two neighbouring countries. They would exchange views on irritants and issues and try to resolve them. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmud Qureshi, while briefing the Parliamentary Committee on National Security in this regard has said there was cause for optimism because India has realized now that both countries should remain engaged in the process of dialogue for sorting out differences and disputes. I beg to differ with the FM. There is nothing to be optimistic about in the forthcoming round of talks he is so optimistic about. Nor is there any joy to be had over New Delhis willingness (at last) to resume talks. As a matter of fact, the so-called 'process of dialogue, for which Islamabad has been virtually begging New Delhi, suits India the most because it is able to hoodwink the world and score brownie points with peaceniks by simply sitting across the table without preconditions but also with out any commitment. It would, of course, discuss 'the major irritant of Kashmir between two countries but with out any possibility of giving Kashmiris their right of self-determination. Over the years, talks, more talks and further rounds of talks have been held at various levels between the two countries but the main issue of Kashmir is where it wasstill unresolved, virtually untouched with only minor measures being undertaken that often, directly or indirectly, benefit New Delhi itself. Islamabad has been mostly twiddling its toes on the talks table. But, then, that is the history of all rounds of talks between India and Pakistan. They have all been long on rhetoric, short on purpose, mostly unproductive for all practical purposes. Remember the marathons held between Indian Minister for External Affairs Sardar Sawran Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the sixties? Longevity with out productivity, is the history of Pak-India dialogues on Kashmir. The thinking in Pakistan, thus, is that India agrees to the talks process only when there is some advantage to be had. It paints itself internationally as a freedom-loving country while Kashmiris in the Indian-occupied territory are being culled ruthlessly for demanding freedom a birth right of all humans. -SHAAN ALI ZAIDI, Lahore, July 10.