ISI’s role in 26/11 tops agenda of Krishna’s meet with Qureshi in Pak

PTI

Islamabad, 15 July 2010:  The Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan will sit down for talks in Islamabad today. Topping New Delhi’s agenda are Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley’s revelations on the ISI’s role in 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Headley had told India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) team that the ISI was literally controlling and coordinating the attacks from the beginning till the end. Right after landing in Islamabad on Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna made it clear that India expects Pakistan to act on these revelations. Ahead of his talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Krishna minced no words about India’s expectations of "some movement" from Islamabad on the issue of terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

 

"I think time has come when such overwhelming evidence of irrefutable nature, if presented to any government, that government will have to act," he told reporters shortly before an informal dinner meeting with Qureshi. Refusing to pre-judge the outcome of his parleys, Krishna said that he would talk to Qureshi about "various concerns based on Headley’s revelations" and other evidence gathered by India itself over a period of time. Pakistan, he emphasised, cannot find fault with the interrogation of Headley as it was also done by the US’ FBI.

 

Krishna’s focus on Headley assumes significance in the backdrop of comments attributed to Indian Home Secretary G K Pillai that evidence based on his interrogation showed that ISI and Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist Hafeez Saeed played "a much more significant role" in Mumbai terror attacks than was thought earlier. The External Affairs Minister also made it clear that anti-India tirade by Hafeez Saeed and other Jihadi leaders would not "smoothen" Indo-Pak ties. Saeed has been consistently making speeches to provoke the people of Pakistan against India, he said.

 

Answering a question on Qureshi’s remark that he would raise the issue of alleged human rights violation in Jammu and Kashmir, Krishna said that it was an internal issue and "we don’t have to answer any other country". During his three-day visit, Krishna will hold talks with his Qureshi and will try to find areas of convergence between the two countries, besides focusing on Confidence Building Measures in the areas of people-to-people contact, exchange of prisoners and bilateral trade.

 

"We hope to discuss all issues of mutual interest and concern that can contribute to restoring trust and bringing confidence in our bilateral relationship," Krishna told reporters upon his arrival in Islamabad. "I also look forward to receiving feedback on the issues raised by our Home Minister (P Chidambaram) during his visit to Pakistan last month on our core concern of terrorism, particularly in the light of the discussions our Home Minister had in Pakistan in the context of interrogation of David Headley regarding the Mumbai terrorist attack," he said.

 

Describing his visit as an important one, Krishna said he hoped it would usher in "a new journey in our efforts to build a peaceful, friendly and cooperative relationship between our two countries." India is committed to resolving all issues with Pakistan through peaceful dialogue based on mutual trust and confidence, Krishna said. "I am carrying with me a message of peace and friendship from the people of India and we hope to undertake this voyage of peace, however long and arduous, jointly with the government and people of Pakistan," he said.

 

Krishna said he also looked forward to meeting Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday. During his visit in Islamabad, the effort by the Indian side would be to work out the modalities of restoring trust and confidence in the relationship, thus paving the way for a substantive dialogue on issues of mutual concern. The two Foreign Ministers have been tasked by their Prime Ministers, who met in Thimphu in April, to bridge the trust deficit and increase confidence in the relationship.

 

The visit takes place in the backdrop of weeks of violence in Kashmir valley, in which the Indian establishment sees involvement of elements from across the Line of Control. Although Thursday’s talks are not being described as Composite Dialogue, India will not shy away from discussing any issue concerning the bilateral ties. Afghanistan may be another important subject for discussion between Krishna and Qureshi. India has pumped in over USD one billion in assistance to the war-torn country and is unwilling to cede any strategic space to Pakistan.