Krishna hits back at Qureshi, demands action against 26/11 masterminds

LONDON - Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Friday demanded “positive and visible” Pakistani action against those responsible for the 26/11 terrorist outrage after his counterpart S.M. Qureshi made the extraordinary claim that New Delhi spoke in two voices over Pakistan.

“I dont want to react harshly to what my esteemed friend Mr Qureshi is reported to have said. India, I would like to reiterate, wants friendly, normal relations with Pakistan and the road blocks which I have pointed out to Mr Qureshi for restoring the relationship have to be cleared, Krishna said.

I hope Pakistan will take positive visible steps to investigate fully the attacks on Mumbai and bring those responsible to justice. This is the only response we expect from Pakistan, which we feel is yet to be done, he told IANS.

Krishna spoke after Qureshi told Indian journalists at an international conference on Afghanistan in London Thursday that the Indian polity, particularly the external affairs ministry (MEA), was confused and hypocritical over Pakistan.

Adopting surprisingly undiplomatic language, Qureshi accused Krishna of having nothing to offer, adding that the public stance adopted by the Indian Foreign Office is somewhat different from the private stance, where Indians apparently acknowledged post-26/11 Pakistani cooperation as unprecedented.

Krishna rejected the claim, saying: I dont know what makes him say that the MEA speaks in two voices. I think there is total unity of thinking in the ministry and unity of approach on Pakistan.