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Friday, Sep 08, 2006

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Manmohan to raise terrorism with Musharraf

Special Correspondent

`Train blasts not to derail peace process'

NEW DELHI: In a clear indication that India does not intend to let last month's Mumbai train blasts derail the peace process with Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said the confidence-building measures (CBMs) were making progress and New Delhi remained ready to address all outstanding issues with Islamabad.

Dr. Singh, however, stressed that he fully intended to convey his concerns about Pakistan's half-hearted efforts at reining in terrorist groups operating on its soil to President Pervez Musharraf on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Havana next week.

"I will be raising the issue of terrorism as it affects both countries," Dr. Singh. The talks process had been interrupted, he noted, precisely because India felt Pakistan was not doing enough to implement its pledge to contain terrorism.

The Prime Minister was speaking to reporters at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where he had gone to brief President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam about his coming visit to Cuba and Brazil, as well as to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new Central Vigilance Commissioner.

Progress on CBMs

Asked for his assessment of the peace process, Dr. Singh noted that there had been a "lot of progress" on the CBM front.

Significantly, he highlighted the visits Jammu and Kashmir politicians and leaders from both sides of the Line of Control have made to either side in recent months.

The extent of people-to-people contact witnessed since 2004 was more than anybody had expected, he said.

Since the resumption of bilateral dialogue in 2004, India and Pakistan have held two rounds of "comprehensive" .

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