Indian lacks courage to expose Hindu extremists: Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - India lacks courage to expose the role of Hindu extremists in the Samjhauta Express blast, Pakistan said Saturday, a day before the two countries are expected to hold secretary-level talks in Thimphu.

“India seems to be lacking courage to unearth culpability of Hindu extremists and their links with some Indian Army personnel,” APP quoted a foreign office spokesman as having said in a statement.

The spokesman expressed regret over the delay of probe into the 2007 blast and said it is “unfortunate” that India has been unable to complete investigations despite passage of four years.

At least 68 people, mostly Pakistanis, were killed in bomb blasts on board the Samjhauta Express in Panipat, Haryana, Feb 18, 2007. The train links India and Pakistan.

The official said despite the passage of four years “India somewhat conveniently asserts that its investigations are incomplete”.

“We do not know how many more years India would need to bring the perpetrators of the Samjhota terrorist act to justice, and provide relief to the families of the victims,” he said.

The comments comes as the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan are set to meet Sunday in Thimphu in what is seen as an “exploratory mission” by New Delhi to revive the dialogue process that is stalled over two years after the Mumbai terrorist attack.

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao Saturday flew to the Bhutanese capital for the meeting of the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

She is expected to hold bilateral talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir Sunday.

The talks could set the stage for a meeting between External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi in New Delhi later this year. The visit could take place in March.

Qureshi is not visiting Thimphu for the SAARC foreign ministers’ meeting Feb 8. Krishna will represent India.

The meeting between the foreign secretaries will be the first official talks to revive the dialogue process since the meeting between the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan broke down in recriminations in Islamabad July 15 last year.