Bangalore, September 5
In what is clearly a departure from the text of the recent Indo-Pak joint statement issued at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna today said India would first expect Pakistan to take action against the terrorists responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks for continuing the process of dialogue with Pakistan.
Talking to reporters here, Krishna, a former Karnataka Chief Minister, accused Pakistan of not being serious in punishing the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks. He said India had provided enough evidence for their prosecution. He said Pakistan was to be blamed for the suspension of the composite dialogue after the 26/11 terror strikes and said it had to take the initiative for the resumption of the process.
“According to legal experts, the six dossiers that we have provided to Pakistan contain enough evidence against the conspirators, abettors and perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks to get them punished in a court of law,” Krishna said.
If Pakistan is interested in taking the logical steps to punish those responsible for the attack in Mumbai, this is an opportunity they can use to show the world and India that they are serious, he said.
The joint statement issued by the prime ministers of India and Pakistan at Sharm el-Sheikh recently had attracted a volley of protests in India for its clause on delinking the composite dialogue process from action against acts of terrorism.
While the statement was criticised in India and seen as an instance of softening of India’s stand on terrorism, it was hailed in Pakistan as a diplomatic victory of the Pakistani establishment over their Indian counterparts.
Dousing the doubts arising out of the joint statement, Krishna strongly attacked Pakistan and called it an epicentre of terror in the region. He said it was for Islamabad to decide what kind of ties it wanted with India. “Pakistan is an epicentre of terror. We have told this to Pakistan as well as to countries friendly to us”, he said.
On Friday, Pakistan described the latest dossier provided by India on 26/11 attacks as a rehash of information contained in previous documents, indicating that it was inadequate for taking action against JuD founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed.
Krishna said India was happily continuing with the composite dialogue, but suspended it after the Mumbai attacks. Pakistan was to be blamed for the suspension of the dialogue, he said. “We have the names of those involved in the Mumbai attacks and have sent them to Pakistan. They should be arrested and punished accordingly”, he said.
On the issue of rising number of attacks on Indian priests in Nepal's Pashupathinath temple, Krishna said India was having a good relationship with Kathmandu. “We are in touch with government of Nepal in this regard and have asked them to ensure safety and security of the priests of Pashupatinath temple,” he said.
Krishna said the authorities of the Pashupatinath Area Development Trust informed him that security cover had been thrown in and around the temple premises and that security had been also provided to the priests.
“India shares historical bond with Nepal, priests from Nepal perform the poojas in Kashi and in Pashupatinath it is the Indian priests who perform the pooja. It is a tradition being followed from centuries,” he said.
