Dialogue useful, but action on 26/11 first: Pakistan told

NEW DELHI - Barely a week ahead of a likely meeting between their leaders in Bhutan, India Thursday said although dialogue was the way forward, Pakistan must show some movement in punishing those involved in the Mumbai carnage, including 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

“Dialogue is always useful, especially in the relations between India and Pakistan,” Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters here.

Rao clarified that no bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani has been scheduled yet on the sidelines of the April 28-29 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in the Bhutanese capital.

Informed sources, however, said a bilateral meeting would take place, but it would become clearer only at the last minute. Manmohan Singh leaves for Thimphu April 28.

Dampening the prospects of any breakthrough in Thimphu, Rao underlined that “the situation has not really changed” since the Feb 25 foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan in New Delhi.

“We need action in terms of movement on trial of those behind the Mumbai terror attacks,” Rao said to a question on whether there was a change in the situation in the past two months.

She added that Pakistan has yet to give any response to the three dossiers India handed over during the foreign secretaries’ meeting in New Delhi. The dossiers linked elements in Pakistan to various terror attacks in India.

Taking note of the spike in the “level of infiltration” in the last few months, Rao added that “the infrastructure of terrorism and activities of terror groups operating from the territory of Pakistan is a cause of serious concern.”

Rao also clarified that she had not heard from her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir since the two last met in New Delhi Feb 25. The talks had ended on a grim note, with India making it clear that the time was not yet ripe for resuming composite dialogue.

In the last nearly two months, Pakistan has yet to act on India’s core concerns over cross-border terror, fuelling speculation that even if a bilateral meeting does take place in Bhutan, it will be a perfunctory one.

Earlier, responding to a question in parliament, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna reminded Islamabad to take action against 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed and “act in an expeditious and transparent manner against all those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attack”.

Linking a resumption of full-fledged dialogue with action against terror, Krishna said the Indian government has reiterated that “the door for dialogue with Pakistan has never been closed, and meaningful dialogue with Pakistan is possible only in an environment free of terror or threat of terror”.

Krishna told parliament that India has made it clear to Pakistan to “take effective action to ban the anti-India activities of organisations such as Jamaat-ud-Dawa and their leaders, including Hafiz Saeed.” They have openly and blatantly espoused an agenda of violence and terrorism against India, Krishna said.

Reminding Pakistan of its January 2004 pledge not to allow its territory to be used for anti-India activities, Krishna said that India has reiterated the need for Pakistan to fulfil this undertaking.

Highlights of statements of Rao and Krishna:

- Dialogue is always useful, specially in relations between India and Pakistan

- Show some movement on punishing the perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage

- Curb activities of anti-India terror outfits, fulfil January 2004 anti-terror pledge

- No action on three dossiers given by India to Pakistan at the foreign-secretary level talks

- No communication between the two foreign secretaries since Feb 25, 2010