The first meeting between India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, since the terror attacks in Mumbai last year, the brief encounter before Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Yekaterinberg, Russia was freighted with expectations of a fresh opening between the two countries.

Still, India’s lingering suspicion of Pakistan’s commitment to combating Islamist militants was clear when Mr. Singh opened meeting with a blunt message while Mr. Zardari flashed his customary broad grin for the cameras.

“I am happy to meet you, but my mandate is to tell you that the territory of Pakistan must not be used for terrorism,” Mr. Singh told Mr. Zardari.

The message, conveyed in front of television cameras when the two leaders shook hands before their closed-door meeting was so sharp that President Zardari, who was apparently embarrassed, immediately asked journalists to be escorted out of the room.

Indian officials cautioned that Tuesday’s meeting on the sidelines of a regional summit in Russia did not signal a resumption of peace talks, and nothing tangible appeared to come out of the meeting.

But the brief talks between that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari mark a further thaw in relations. U.S., Indian and Pakistani officials say the thaw could help give Islamabad the political and military cover it needs to widen its campaign against militant strongholds in the country’s mountainous northwest.

Pakistan’s foreign minister told that Messrs Singh and Zardari would meet again on the sidelines of a Non-Aligned Movement meeting in July.

The sincerity of peace talks from Indian side is questionable.