India and Pakistan's first official talks since the 2008 Mumbai attacks moved relations out of the diplomatic deep freeze, but left both sides at loggerheads on how to take the dialogue forward.
Expectations had been low even before Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao sat down with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir on Thursday, and their subsequent briefings made it clear that there had been little attempt to address any substantive issues.
The Indian side, aware that its offer of talks had been criticised in some quarters as a sign of weakness, stressed that the bulk of the meeting had consisted of pressing Islamabad to combat militancy.
Pakistan complained about India's "narrow focus" on the issue of terrorism and highlighted its attempt to bring the conversation around to other issues, including the long-running dispute over the divided region of Kashmir.
"New round, old story," was the front-page verdict of the Hindustan Times on the discussions that ended with vague promises to "remain in touch," despite Pakistan's desire for a return to a comprehensive peace dialogue.
Washington had been widely seen as playing a key role in bringing the two sides back together, and it sought to put a positive spin on the outcome, describing it as an "important step" towards normalisation.
"We certainly hope that both countries will build on this dialogue in the weeks and months ahead," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.
Analysts in India and Pakistan also saw some cause for optimism, despite the absence of any framework for taking the talks forward.
"I think that under the circumstances, this is as positive an outcome as was possible. Though there was no breakthrough, there was no breakdown," said Indian analyst C.U. Bhaskar from the National Maritime Foundation think-tank.
While the discussions were little more than "statements of positions," they did at least have the merit of being made face-to-face, Bhaskar said.
India froze all official dialogue with Pakistan after the November 2008 Mumbai carnage in which 10 Islamist gunmen targeted the country's financial capital, killing 166 people.
India blamed the attack on Pakistan-based militants and said talks could only resume if Islamabad took concrete steps to bring those responsible to justice and cracked down on groups operating on its soil.
Pakistani analysts said Islamabad would probably feel aggrieved at India's refusal to resume a full-fledged dialogue, but suggested that lingering public outrage in India over the Mumbai attacks compelled New Delhi to move slowly.
"Flexibility from India will come only after a few more rounds of negotiations. They have to cater to their domestic political needs, which demand showing hesitancy," said political analyst A.H. Nayyar.
Security analyst Hasan Askari was more sceptical, describing Pakistan's failure to get a comprehensive dialogue back on track as a "major disappointment".
"The door of dialogue has not been closed, but I don't expect them to meet very soon," Askari said.
A mutual unwillingness to be seen conceding any ground was evident in the separate briefings given by the foreign secretaries after their talks.
Asked whether the issue of Kashmir was raised, Rao stressed "briefly," leading Bashir to insist that discussions on the Himalayan region had been "detailed".
In a later briefing for the Indian media, a senior Indian government official offered a biting response when asked about the discrepancy.
"We get our briefing from a democratic government, while Pakistanis get theirs from men in khaki," the official said.
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