With two wanted militants — Abdul Karim Tunda and Yasin Bhatkal — in custody, India on Thursday said it hoped Pakistan would hand over Indians who were accused of fomenting violence and radical ideology in this country.
“We hope that their thinking will change. Their Prime Minister says the results of the elections just held are an indicator that there is a change in the thinking of people in Pakistan. If this is so, we welcome it,” External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told newspersons outside Parliament.
“Wherever they [wanted persons] are being flushed out, we welcome it. But it is not that this change of heart has happened by itself, it happened because of our efforts. About the efforts we speak sometimes, but don’t give all details so that the attempts being made are not scuttled.”
The Minister said: “There is a long list and we should be able to hold answerable all those in the list ... Such efforts on our part have been there ... Our intention is not to speak on this issue just for getting cheap publicity. This is a serious issue and we understand our responsibility. Our effort will be to get full satisfaction for the country on the issue.”
