India will continue to engage with France on bilateral and multilateral levels to tackle terrorism, Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said at a press conference here on Thursday.
In response to a question on the shootings in Paris, Mr. Akbaruddin said, “India is shocked like the rest of the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already condemned this attack as a dastardly act. Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj has written to her French counterpart [to express solidarity]. We intend to continue to work with France bilaterally and multilaterally to tackle issues of terrorism.”
Asked about Pakistan’s denial about the boat incident off Gujarat coast, Mr. Akbaruddin said the Defence Ministry had indicated it would provide all the information in due time. On reports of Indians being abducted by members of the IS, he said the government did not have any concrete information on the status of the Indians. “We have uncorroborated information from other sources. India will never forget them. When we have corroborative evidence, we will share it.”
To a question on the surfacing of audio tapes of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, Mr. Akbaruddin said, “Our view is that Dawood Ibrahim is an absconder from justice. He will be brought to justice,” he said.
