India asks Pakistan to try more for 26/11 (Second Lead)

ISLAMABAD - Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram Saturday asked Pakistan to prosecute more people for the Mumbai terror attack, and Islamabad pledged to move with “full force” against terrorists.

“We think more people were behind the Mumbai attack and more people should be prosecuted,” Chidambaram said here after Friday night’s path-breaking talks with his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik.

“That point has been made to the Pakistan government and I wish to remain positive on the outcome of the meeting with Rehman Malik,” he said.

It was the most hard-hitting statement by any Indian leader made on Pakistani soil on the Mumbai attack, which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. His words appeared to have had some sobering effect on Pakistan.

Without going into specifics, Malik told journalists: “What we have discussed we should have discussed. The idea is to strike heavily against terrorists. We will take India into confidence.”

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who had a separate meeting with Chidambaram, assured India that his country would move with “full force” against terrorists.

Saying terrorists wanted to derail the dialogue between India and Pakistan, he said: “We ourselves are victims of terrorism. We should join hands to defeat the common enemy.”

India called off the dialogue with Pakistan after the Mumbai carnage of November 2008 that killed 166 Indians and foreigners and which was blamed on Pakistani terrorists.

After initially denying any Pakistani link to Mumbai, in which one Pakistani terrorist was caught alive, Islamabad later blamed “non-state” actors.

Chidambaram did not provide what he and Malik had discussed one on one.

“We know seven people are being prosecuted (for Mumbai). How far this prosecution has proceeded, this is for Pakistan to tell,” he said, while noting that the trial scheduled for Saturday had been adjourned for a week.

“I have conveyed whatever was unnecessary to my Pakistani counterpart, and he has conveyed whatever was necessary.

“We spoke with each other. We spoke directly to each other, and I am confident that something good will emerge out of that meeting. So, let us try to remain positive.”

Pakistan stressed the need to remain positive ahead of next month’s meeting between the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers, S.M. Krishna and Qureshi, in Islamabad.

Qureshi said when India suspended the dialogue with Pakistan following the Mumbai attack, the net beneficiaries were terrorists.

“It is in our mutual interest to have tangible progress, and we will make tangible progress,” he said. “I am confident these meetings will develop into positive outcomes.”

In his discussions with Malik, Chidambaram impressed upon his host to address India’s core concerns over terrorism with the seriousness they deserve and asked Islamabad to take concrete action against the Mumbai attackers and their handlers in Pakistan.

Building on the June 24 talks between the two foreign secretaries in Islamabad, Chidambaram said India had given enough dossiers on the Mumbai attack - an 11th was given a few days ago - and it was time for Pakistan to act.

Seeking concrete action against Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of 26/11, he sought the evidence presented by the Pakistan government against Saeed. Islamabad had earlier cited legal grounds due to which Saeed could not be prosecuted.

Chidambaram sought voice samples of the Pakistani handlers of the terrorists who stormed Mumbai and also took up the rise in infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists from Pakistan.

Earlier, addressing the SAARC home ministers’ conference, Chidambaram Saturday pitched for “fullest cooperation” among the eight member countries to share information “on potential terrorists and planned acts of terrorism”.

“We need to cooperate each other in sharing information on potential terrorists and planned acts of terrorism, and all other forms of criminal activities in order to create more secure environment,” he said.