By Bappa Majumdar
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The first official talks between India and Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai attacks ended on Thursday with only an agreement to "keep in touch," signalling that relations between the nuclear-armed rivals remain frosty.
The meeting also marks a tiny step in improving the outlook for stability in Afghanistan, where India and Pakistan have long battled for influence, complicating regional security. But many obstacles remain.
The two nations' top diplomats met in a former princely palace in a heavily guarded New Delhi neighbourhood and agreed to "remain in touch" to build trust with each other.
"We went into today's talks with an open mind but fully conscious of the limitations imposed by the large trust deficit between the two countries," Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said after talks with her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir.
"In line with our graduated and step by step approach, our aims were modest."
Neither diplomat said if there would be a next round of talks, though the prime ministers of the two countries have an opportunity to meet at a regional summit in Bhutan in April.
Rao, wearing a black and red sari, and Bashir in a dark suit shook hands in front of the camera before walking into a sprawling room for a one-on-one meeting followed by delegation-level talks.
India broke off talks after the Mumbai attacks, saying dialogue could resume only if Pakistan acted against militants on its soil. It blamed the attacks, which killed 166 people and derailed a four-year-long peace process, on Pakistan-based militants.
Re-engaging Pakistan was a politically fraught move for New Delhi, given strong Indian public opinion against talks, but a nudge from Washington and dwindling diplomatic options saw India reaching out.
MODEST EXPECTATIONS
Washington sees better India-Pakistan relations as crucial so lslamabad, not having to worry about its eastern border with India, can focus on fighting the Taliban on its western border with Afghanistan.
Expectations from the talks were modest, and a simple pledge to continue the dialogue may be the best officials can hope for.
"Nothing has come out of these talks, nothing was suppose to come out," political columnist Cho Ramaswamy said.
"Whether there is going to be another round of talks depends on the amount of friendly pressure Americans put on both sides."
The two countries have squabbled over which subjects should be covered in the talks -- India wants to focus on terrorism while Pakistan eyes the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir that has been the cause of two of their three wars.
"One cannot be dismissive of the Kashmir issue and any effort to be dismissive of this issue will not be healthy," Bashir told reporters after the talks.
Kashmir, which India and Pakistan claim in full but rule in part, remains at the heart of their dispute. India accuses Pakistan of abetting a 20-year revolt in Indian Kashmir. Pakistan says it only gives moral support.
Rao said Pakistan had also raised the issue of water from Himalayan rivers flowing down from Indian Kashmir into the Indus river basin in Pakistan. Pakistan says India is unfairly diverting its waters with the upstream construction of barrages and dams, a charge India denies.
The talks in New Delhi come amid a foreboding sense in India that the bombing of a popular bakery in the western city of Pune this month, which killed at least 16 people, may herald more attacks.
A second attack like Mumbai could shake what has so far proved to be a resilient Indian economy.
(Writing by Krittivas Mukherjee; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Sanjeev Miglani)
