Indo-Pak talks to continue
Dialogue despite differences:
INDIA: India and Pakistan agreed to keep going the process of
foreign secretary-level dialogue launched here Thursday in order to
rebuild confidence between the two countries, said Indian Foreign
Secretary Nirupama Rao.
This was agreed upon by the two sides despite apparent wide
differences over a range of issues. She said the talks were constructive
but there was an overriding need to restore trust between the two
nations.
Thursday’s meeting was the first formal talks between the two
nuclear-armed old rivals since the attack on the Indian city of Mumbai
in November 2008 left 174 people dead including nine gunmen.
Rao, who arrived for a press briefing directly from the Hyderabad
House after talks were extended, revealed that India delivered to
Pakistan three dossiers new leads on Mumbai attacks, new threats from
Illyas Kashmiri and other terror groups, and a list of Indian fugitives
believed to be in Pakistan.
“We went into the talks with an open mind, but were also fully
conscious of the large trust deficit that exists between the two
countries,” she said. “Our aims were modest but we spelt out our
concerns on terrorism emanating from Pakistan or the territories under
its control.”
Rao said that India has stressed the importance of expeditious action
on the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks especially in view of the
emergence of new leads from the United States.
Asked whether India expressed concern over the slow progress of probe
into the Mumbai attacks on the Pakistani side, she said: “we told them
that we are not satisfied with the investigations, while they responded
by saying that they were in the process of prosecuting the culprits.”
Referring to Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of Mumbai attacks
who constantly incite terror attacks against India, Rao said she
remained discontented with Pakistan’s response that their anti-terror
laws did not permit them to take action against individuals who make
speeches.
“Obviously, we are not satisfied with this position,” she said.
She noted that Pakistan did bring up the issue of alleged Indian
involvement in unrest in Baluchistan, but could not produce any
evidence. NEW DELHI, Friday, Xinhua |
