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This is an archive article published on September 29, 2009

Krishna: India wants credible action against Mumbai plotters

Rejecting Pakistan’s demand for going beyond the issue of terror,External Affairs Minister S M Krishna....

Rejecting Pakistan’s demand for going beyond the issue of terror,External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Monday said the least India expected from that country was “tangible results” in the Mumbai attacks probe which would help build an atmosphere for purposeful talks.

The minister said India has not set a “benchmark” for Pakistan but expected it to deliver tangible results in the investigations and prosecutions. “We have suggested to the Government of Pakistan that the perpetrators of that attack on Mumbai be brought to justice within the framework of the Pakistan law,” Krishna said. “That is the least that we expect from them,” said the minister who had a two-hour long meeting here on Sunday with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Krishna said further talks between the two countries would depend on concrete action taken by Islamabad on the Mumbai attacks,particularly in the upcoming trial of the accused. Qureshi had on Sunday said the two countries could not confine discussions to only terror or Mumbai without touching on other outstanding issues that form the Composite Dialogue.

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“You need an atmosphere for talks to to be purposeful,” Krishna said on being asked whether the dialogue process would restart only when India saw credible action being taken by Pakistan against the perpetrators.

“Well,that has always been India’s position and I think very rightly so. I think that is a sensible approach,” Krishna said.

Both at the Foreign Secretary-level as also at the Krishna-Qureshi meetings here,the focus was on dealing with the terror issue and the Mumbai attacks probe.

Krishna said during his meeting with Qureshi,the entire time was spent discussing terror and how India has been been a victim of terror strikes,the last big one being 26/11.

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India blames Pakistan for not speeding up the probe against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks despite providing it with six dossiers. It is also disappointed that Hafiz Saeed,mastermind of 26/11,has not yet been prosecuted.

Krishna said he had not asked for any assurance from Pakistan on Saeed nor was any assurance given to him. “We have said that on the basis of the dossier that we have provided to the government of Pakistan,they should conduct investigations.” “A conspiracy has been hatched on the soil of Pakistan. Naturally,the government of Pakistan will have to do the investigations,” he said.

Qureshi told journalists that Pakistan had arrested seven people in connection with the Mumbai carnage and their prosecutions would begin on October 3. “Pakistan wants to see this trial to a logical conclusion,” he said.

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