IN the wake of President Asif Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session last month, officials from both countries met on Monday in New Delhi to discuss bilateral ties. Though a consensus was reached on formulating a joint mechanism on terrorism, the main worry remained that of Indian hegemonic designs in the region making themselves felt in steps like blocking Pakistan's share of water, suppressing the will of the Kashmiris through the use of force and creating trouble for us on either side of the border. The main focus from the Indian side was on the clichd theme of ceasefire violations. Pakistan's national security advisor Mehmud Ali Durrani however preferred to talk turkey by expressing concerns to his Indian counterpart, M.K. Narayanan, over New Delhi's strategy of blocking Pakistan's share of water and storing it in the controversial Baglihar dam in Held Kashmir. According to reports an assurance was given that India would compensate for the water it was diverting, but that indeed had been done several times before with nothing materialising. Indian intransigence on other issues like Sir Creek are an extra source of concern. The people of Kashmir, who have sacrificed 80,000 of their kin so far, are now staging a second uprising and are determined to settle for nothing less than freedom from the Indian yoke. Indian authorities are surely mistaken in thinking that there could be any improvement in its ties with Pakistan while it shuns resolving the core issue.