By IANS,
New Delhi: India told Pakistan “time was not yet ripe” to resume the composite dialogue process even as Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao handed over three fresh dossiers to her Pakistani counterpart, saying Islamabad has not done enough in investigating the conspiracy behind the Mumbai attack and curbing the activities of terror organisations on its soil.
After a three-hour long meeting with Pakistan Foreing Secretary Salman Bashir at the Hyderabad House, Rao said India had expressed its disappointment at lack of sufficient prosecuting action on the information provided about the complicity of Pakistan-based individuals and organisations in the Mumbai assault.
“While acknowledging the steps taken by Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attack to book, I pointed out that these did not go far enough to unravel the full conspiracy behind the Mumbai attack and to award exemplary punishment to the culprits,” she said at a news conference after the talks that broke the ice in their diplomatic relationship since the Mumbai terror assault in November 2008.
She said that Pakistan had to take “expeditious” action on the investigations, “including by following up on the leads that have emerged following the arrest in the United states of David Coleman Headley and Tahawuur Hussain Rana.”
Headley and Rana, both in custody of United States, have been accused of being part of Lashkar-e-Toiba and taking part in the planning of the Mumbai terror attacks.
The Indian foreign secretary said three dossiers have been handed over to the Pakistani delegation asking it to take action against terrorists on its soil.
“We gave them information on some individuals associated with the Mumbai terror attack. We gave them another dossier on threats issued by Ilyas Kashmiri and thirdly we gave them the dossier about fugitives from Indian law who are in Pakistan,” Rao said.
Harkat-ul Jihad Islami commander Ilyas Kashmiri had recently given threats to sporting events in India, including Hockey world cup, Indian Premier League and Commonwealth Games.
Rao said that the Mumbai attack was a “symptom of a larger problem” that the “continued existence and unhindered activities of organisations, such as Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jamaat ud Dawa, Hizb ul Mujahideen etc. from Pakistani territory and territory under Pakistan’s control to perpetrate terrorist violence against India.”
She made specific reference to the Feb 5 rallies, when these organisations openly talked about terror acts against India.
“It was emphasized that the Government of India could not but take a serious note of such actions as it was duty bound to ensure the security of its citizens,” said Rao.
The recent speech of Hafez Sayed, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa supreme and alleged Mumbai terror attack mastermind, was also raised during the talks by India, with Rao saying that the lack of control on his activity did not help in creating a climate of trust between the two countries.
She pointed out during the question and answer session that the Pakistan response was that while the establishment did not subscribed to the agenda, “their laws do not permit them to take action just by virtue of their speech”.
“We are certainly not satisfied. We believe that under Pakistan’s anti-terrorism law, action can be taken,” she said.
Earlier, she described the Mumbai attack has having “erased the trust and confidence that the two countries had painstakingly built during the period 2004-07”.
On the issue of resuming the composite dialogue, she said that while Pakistan had raised it during the talks, India had said that the “time was not yet ripe” unless there was a “climate of trust”
“In line with the graduated and step-by-step approach our aims were modest; we had a useful discussion during which I spelt out forthrightly our concerns on terrorism emanating from Pakistan against India,” Rao said giving her account of the talks.
She said trust building was key in keeping the talks channels with Pakistan on.
“We have set out to take a first step towards rebuilding trust. And I believe my meeting with Pakistan foreign secretary has constituted that first step. We have agreed to remain in touch and continue endeavour to restore trust.”
She said that the Pakistani side had brought the issue of alleged Indian involvement in unrest in Balochistan, which India dismissed as “baseless”.
Similarly, Pakistan had also raised the issue of resolving water issues, to which India had responded that the Indus Water treaty had stood the test of time, said Rao.