On terror, PM says: Pakistan will have to walk the talk

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India will 8220;test the waters8221; of the joint mechanism it has agreed to with Pakistan by sharing the evidence of the Mumbai train blasts.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India will 8220;test the waters8221; of the joint mechanism it has agreed to with Pakistan by sharing the evidence of the Mumbai train blasts. Last week, the Mumbai police said it had evidence to show the involvement of Pakistan8217;s ISI and terror groups Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in the 7/11 blasts that killed 187 people.

Speaking to reporters on board the flight home from South Africa, Singh said: 8220;I think Pakistan will have to walk the talk.8221;

While the Prime Minister did seem to repose faith in the joint mechanism discussed in Havana, he was clear that Pakistan must demonstrate its sincerity by acting on the evidence to be shared with it.

Singh told mediapersons that Pakistan had condemned the Mumbai blasts and had pledged to cooperate to fight this menace in the joint statement. 8220;We will share information with Pakistan and ascertain how sincere they are in carrying forward the commitment President Musharraf and I have underlined in our joint statement,8221; he said.

He said India was trying to normalise its relations with Pakistan despite the Mumbai blasts. To a query if the Mumbai police revelations could affect Indo-Pak ties, he said: 8220;The Havana mechanism is yet to take-off. We have to test it. We will test it.8221;

Officials of the Ministry of External Affairs said though India and Pakistan were yet to formalise the joint mechanism of sharing information to counter terrorism, it was yet to be put to test.

Singh was returning home from his four-day trip to South Africa and his discussions with South Africa President Thabo Mbeki touched upon the scourge of terrorism and the Mumbai blasts. The two leaders said India and South Africa would share intelligence and work together to counter it.