By Manish Chand, IANS,
Yekaterinburg (Russia) : In their first meeting since the 26/11 Mumbai carnage, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday asked Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to take “strong and credible action” against anti-India terrorist outfits in his country and create the “right atmosphere” for the resumption of the stalled bilateral dialogue.
Manmohan Singh and Zardari met in the Silver Room of Hotel Hyatt Regency in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, the industrial town located nearly 1,400 km from Moscow, barely minutes after the SCO summit they attended as observers.
They met for half an hour and held wide-ranging discussions that focused on terrorism that continues to emanate from Pakistan’s soil despite assurances to the contrary.
Manmohan Singh conveyed India’s growing disappointment over Pakistan’s inaction against the architects and executors of the Mumbai mayhem, official sources said. The prime minister singled out the release of Hafiz Saeed, the suspect mastermind of the 26/11 attacks, to underscore Islamabad’s lack of seriousness in acting against anti-India terror outfits.
The prime minister indicated his willingness to engage with Pakistan to resolve all outstanding issues, but made it clear that unless Islamabad takes credible action, it will be difficult to resume the peace process.
Earlier in the day, the two leaders met the summit of the six-nation summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) where India and Pakistan, along with Iran and Mongolia, are invited as observers.