Stepping up pressure on Pakistan to take action in the Mumbai terror attacks case, India on Sunday said normalisation of bilateral ties could “only be in an atmosphere free of terror” and stressed the need for creation of the “right” ambience.
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, who had a 30-minute meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar here, underlined the importance of taking action to bring perpetrators of 26/11 to justice and said New Delhi had given to Islamabad additional concrete evidence against those involved.
Mr. Krishna, who met Ms. Khar on the sidelines of a conference on Afghanistan, also raised the issue of LeT founder Hafiz Saeed’s “pouring venom” and continued anti-India propaganda, official sources said.
They said the two Ministers had a “candid and constructive discussion” in a cordial atmosphere during which they also shared their assessment of the outcome of their Foreign Secretary-level talks held in New Delhi two days ago.
During the talks, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai had shared with his counterpart Jalil Abbas Jilani the information gathered from Abu Jundal who revealed that he, along with Saeed, was in the control room in Pakistan during the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Mr. Mathai also shared the information on Pakistani passport and Pakistan’s domestic identity cards issued to Jundal in the name of Riyasat Ali, indicating the involvement of Pakistan’s state agencies in the 26/11 attacks.
The External Affairs Minister also raised issues related to Sarabjit Singh, currently on a death row, and other Indian prisoners in Pakistan.
Ms. Khar assured India that the new Pakistan government was committed to the former Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani’s goal of bridging relations with India.
The two leaders also shared views on Mr. Krishna’s forthcoming visit to Pakistan in September.
