U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday asked Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attacks to justice, saying this would help improve the security situation in the region.
Mr. Obama also did not commit for any civilian nuclear deal with Pakistan on the lines of that of India.
Meeting Mr. Gilani, more than two hours after his meeting with the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Obama told the high—level Pakistani delegation that Dr. Singh was sincere in improving ties with Islamabad, but wants Pakistan to take action against those responsible for the Mumbai attacks.
“Mr. Obama said he feels that Prime Minister Singh is sincere in his desire to engage Pakistan, but he (Singh) wants Pakistan to move against those responsible for the Mumbai attacks,” said a source referring to the deliberations that went inside the two delegations for about 40 minutes at the Blair House.
Mr. Obama is believed to have said that he also personally believes that Pakistan taking action against those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attack “would be a positive thing”, sources said, adding that there was no commitment to the Pakistani leaders when Mr. Gilani raised the issue of a civilian nuclear deal with the U.S. on the lines of that of India to meet its acute energy needs.
During the meeting the U.S. President is understood to have spoken on his desire to have an improved Indo—Pak relationship arguing that he believes that this would have a positive impact on the overall situation in the region.
Noting that both India and Pakistan are sovereign nations, Mr. Obama felt that improvement in Indo—Pak relationship is beneficial to both of them.
