A day after the Foreign Secretary-level talks sought to set the tone and tenor for a fresh engagement, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram told his Pakistani counterpart, Rehman Malik, that New Delhi was unsatisfied with Islamabad's handling of investigations into the Mumbai terror attacks.
That they have miles to go to bridge their differences on the issue of terrorism was evident soon after their meeting. Mr. Malik, who was ever ready to brief the media, was reluctant this time. Likewise, there was silence from the Indian side.
Earlier, speaking to journalists on board his special aircraft, Mr. Chidambaram indicated India's approach to the first-ever meeting of Interior Ministers after the 26/11 attacks. He felt that it was high time Pakistan widened the net on the basis of the “mountain of evidence” brought to the table by India in the past 18 months.
The Home Minister also made it clear that he came with an agenda to impress upon Pakistan the “gravity of the situation” and the need to begin prosecuting the 26/11 masterminds, handlers and trainers. “Not more than two of the seven arrested by Pakistan are frontline people. I sincerely hope the Pakistani administration realises that the world will not forgive them [if they don't act].”
He would be happy if he left Pakistan convinced that it had understood the “gravity of the issue and is taking proportionate action.”
At the same time, he did not want to give the impression that India thought Pakistan had not taken any action at all. “I am not going to score debating points. The idea is to make them realise the gravity of the situation. I don't want to say that nothing has happened from the Pakistani side.”
Hours before the meeting, Mr. Malik had been confident of satisfying Mr. Chidambaram on the Hafiz Saeed issue. Instead of exchanging dossiers, the two countries should exchange hearts, he said. “Hafiz Saeed is an issue. And we will also satisfy Mr. Chidambaram on that. We have no problem in that,” he told a television channel.
Mr. Chidambaram felt that his purpose would be served if the Pakistani leadership deliberated on India's perception of how it had handled investigations into the Mumbai attacks. “I am going to ask the Pakistani leadership to deliberate on the material that has been given and take appropriate action.”
The two sides also touched on terror training camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, continuing infiltration across the Line of Control and provocative exhortations to the Hurriyat which mar New Delhi's attempts to start talks with the separatist groups based in Jammu and Kashmir.
