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DAWN.COM | World | No India-Pakistan PM talks planned in Bhutan: official
NEW DELHI: No meeting is slated so far between the premiers of India and Pakistan on the margins of a South Asian summit to be held next week in Bhutan, a senior Indian official said Thursday.
Ties between the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals have been strained since the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 10 gunmen targeted multiple locations in India's financial capital killing 166 people and injuring scores of others.
The answer is no. As of now there is no such meeting, Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters.
I don't believe in making forecasts. I would say you should wait and let's see. There has been no request from the Pakistan side as of now, she said.
Talks between the rivals have always overshadowed summits of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which groups eight nations in the region including India and Pakistan.AFP
---------- Post added at 08:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:24 PM ----------
No meet in Bhutan, Pak must against Saeed: India
New Delhi: Barely a week ahead of a likely meeting between Indian and Pakistani leaders in Bhutan, the Indian government Thursday reminded Islamabad to take action against 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed and stressed that although the door for dialogue was never closed, it would depend on effective action against terror.
"The government has repeatedly requested Pakistan, including in the recent meeting between foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan held in New Delhi on Feb 25, to act in an expeditious and transparent manner against all those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attack, including Hafiz Saeed," External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told the Rajya Sabha.
Krishna told parliament that India has made it clear to Pakistan to "take effective action to ban the anti-India activities of organizations 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.
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".
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.
"Pakistan, in response, has assured that action will be taken against the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack," Krishna said.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao also said that India was not in a hurry to revive talks with Pakistan and no meeting was scheduled between the Prime Ministers of the two countries next week in Bhutan.
"Dialogue is always useful, especially in the relations between India and Pakistan," Rao told reporters, but added that no formal meeting has been scheduled on the sidelines of the SAARC summit next week.
"The situation has not really changed. We need action in terms of movement on the Mumbai terror attacks," Rao said to a question on whether there was a change in situation from the time that foreign secretaries of both countries met in Delhi Feb 25.
She also said that Pakistan has yet to give any response or feedback on the three dossiers that India handed over at the meeting between their foreign secretaries.
She noted that the "level of infiltration has been a cause of concern in the last few months".
"The infrastructure of terrorism and activities of terror groups operating from the territory of Pakistan is a cause of serious concern," added Rao.
NEW DELHI: No meeting is slated so far between the premiers of India and Pakistan on the margins of a South Asian summit to be held next week in Bhutan, a senior Indian official said Thursday.
Ties between the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals have been strained since the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 10 gunmen targeted multiple locations in India's financial capital killing 166 people and injuring scores of others.
The answer is no. As of now there is no such meeting, Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters.
I don't believe in making forecasts. I would say you should wait and let's see. There has been no request from the Pakistan side as of now, she said.
Talks between the rivals have always overshadowed summits of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which groups eight nations in the region including India and Pakistan.AFP
---------- Post added at 08:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:24 PM ----------
No meet in Bhutan, Pak must against Saeed: India
New Delhi: Barely a week ahead of a likely meeting between Indian and Pakistani leaders in Bhutan, the Indian government Thursday reminded Islamabad to take action against 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed and stressed that although the door for dialogue was never closed, it would depend on effective action against terror.
"The government has repeatedly requested Pakistan, including in the recent meeting between foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan held in New Delhi on Feb 25, to act in an expeditious and transparent manner against all those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attack, including Hafiz Saeed," External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told the Rajya Sabha.
Krishna told parliament that India has made it clear to Pakistan to "take effective action to ban the anti-India activities of organizations 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.
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".
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.
"Pakistan, in response, has assured that action will be taken against the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack," Krishna said.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao also said that India was not in a hurry to revive talks with Pakistan and no meeting was scheduled between the Prime Ministers of the two countries next week in Bhutan.
"Dialogue is always useful, especially in the relations between India and Pakistan," Rao told reporters, but added that no formal meeting has been scheduled on the sidelines of the SAARC summit next week.
"The situation has not really changed. We need action in terms of movement on the Mumbai terror attacks," Rao said to a question on whether there was a change in situation from the time that foreign secretaries of both countries met in Delhi Feb 25.
She also said that Pakistan has yet to give any response or feedback on the three dossiers that India handed over at the meeting between their foreign secretaries.
She noted that the "level of infiltration has been a cause of concern in the last few months".
"The infrastructure of terrorism and activities of terror groups operating from the territory of Pakistan is a cause of serious concern," added Rao.
