External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna on Friday disfavoured the idea of not engaging Pakistan in talks because of Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts at the time he was killed by U.S. forces.
Speaking to The Hindu prior to his departure from here after a visit to Malaysia and Singapore, Mr. Krishna said: “Disengaging Pakistan, because of bin Laden’s episode in Pakistan, certainly would not be a very wise move.”
Emphasising that “the world will be much more peaceful when the likes of bin Laden are removed from the scene,” he said “the issues [in India-Pakistan ties] will have to be played very carefully, cautiously, [given] the fact that Pakistan is our neighbour.”
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Osama bin Laden was “the father-figure of international terrorism” and “links can easily be established” between him and the 26/11 terrorist attack on Mumbai. Indeed, Ajmal Kasab was now reported to have made repeated enquiries about how Osama died. Despite such links “we will have to deal with them [the Pakistanis] as our neighbours,” said Mr. Krishna.
Answering questions on New Delhi’s ties with East Asian powers, he said “India and South Korea have completed negotiations on an Inter-Governmental Agreement for Cooperation on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.” Asked about what was learnt from South Korean sources, Mr. Krishna said “a final text has been initialled.” As a sequel, “the two sides are now in the process of completing internal formalities and the Agreement is expected to be signed shortly.”
Outlining two sensitive areas of peaceful engagement with Tokyo, he said “we look forward to bilateral cooperation with Japan in the development, recycling and reuse of rare earths and rare metals and in research and development of their industrial substitutes.”
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In the field of civil nuclear energy, “the negotiations [with Tokyo] are still going on,” and New Delhi “looks forward to mutually beneficial cooperation with Japan” even in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster.
Noting that “both China and Japan are our important strategic partners,” he said India would continue to engage them “on their own merit.” These equations would remain “independent of our relations with other countries,” said Mr. Krishna, responding to a question on the likely Indian policy in the context of the planned expansion of the East Asia Summit to include the U.S. and Russia later this year.