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New Delhi: With 26/11
plotter Abu Jindal's disclosures creating public outrage here,
India Thursday pressed Pakistan to prosecute the 26/11
perpetrators and underlined this could be the biggest confidence
building measure (CBM).
Islamabad, however, strongly rejected any
role of state actors in the Mumbai carnage and offered a joint
probe.
The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan, Ranjan Mathai and
Jalil Abbas Jilani, wrapped up two days of talks on peace and
security, including CBMs, Jammu and Kashmir as well as the
promotion of friendly exchanges.
The talks underlined the political will of both sides to keep the
fragile dialogue process going, but failed to bridge the gap on
terror that has strained ties between the two subcontinental
neighbours.
Issues thrown up by the disclosures made by 26/11 plotter Abu
Jindal Hamza, which India said point to the involvement of
Pakistani state actors in the Nov 26-29, 2008 terrorist attack in
Mumbai, topped the discussions.
"Terrorism is the biggest threat to peace and security in the
region, and bringing the guilty to justice in the Mumbai terror
attacks would be the biggest confidence building measure of all,"
said Mathai.
"The arrest and the ongoing interrogation of Abu Jundal has now
added urgency to this matter. I did take up the issue with Foreign
Secretary Jilani and I have shared information with him," he said.
Mathai stressed that the investigation is under way and India will
continue to pursue this matter to its logical conclusion.
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna highlighted outrage in
India over the slow pace of 26/11 justice when Jilani called on
him later in the day. Krishna, according to sources, conveyed the
view of the Indian political leadership that Islamabad must act on
26/11 justice so that a congenial public opinion is created to
take the peace process forward.
Pakistan, however, refuted India's accusation of the involvement
of Pakistani state agencies in the Mumbai terror engineered by 10
Pakistanis that left 166 people, including many foreigners, dead
and 238 injured.
"I would very strongly reject any insinuation of any involvement
of any state agency in acts of terrorism in India," he said.
"I assured him that the entire evidence, whatever evidence that
India has, should be shared with us, and we will investigate this
matter. We will even be willing to offer joint investigation into
the whole affair," he added.
Jilani stressed that "trading charges will not help" and called
for greater cooperation between the home ministries and respective
agencies of the two countries.
Despite differences in perceptions on the issue of terrorism, the
two countries decided to pursue the dialogue and stressed on
enhancing bilateral trade that could produce win-win outcomes.
"While we might not agree on all issues, we do agree that
relations between our two countries have to be normalised. There
is a determination on both sides to take forward our dialogue with
an open mind and a constructive spirit," said Mathai.
Stressing that Jindal's revelations do not constitute a setback to
the revived peace process, Jilani underlined that the two
countries have to "move from an adversarial relationship to a
positive narrative".
"There should be absolutely no setback because setback is
something that we cannot afford," Jilani replied when asked
whether Jindal's revelations were a setback to the peace process.
"We have positively assessed the dialogue process. We have made
significant progress in all areas."
Mathai agreed. "The forward movement on trade is a win-win
proposition. We look forward to making progress on the trade track
in accordance with the roadmap which has been agreed already by
the two sides."
The two sides discussed the Jammu and Kashmir issue and agreed to
find a peaceful solution "by narrowing divergences and building
convergences".
In this context, both sides discussed strengthening CBMs to step
up trade and travel across the Line of Control (LoC) that divides
Kashmir and decided to convene a meeting of the working group on
cross-LoC CBMs July 19 in Islamabad.
The foreign secretaries also discussed the date for the visit of
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna to Islamabad and will meet
again in Islamabad to prepare for the meeting of foreign ministers
in September.
Krishna Thursday said he hopes to visit Islamabad in the first
week of September for talks with his Pakistani counterpart.
The two countries also discussed revival of cricketing ties and
focused on enhancing sports and media exchanges.
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