New York, September 22
India expects Pakistan to act swiftly against Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the chief of the banned JuD and alleged Mumbai attack mastermind, said External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, as he prepared for a key meeting with his Pakistani counterpart here.

“India would be interested to see how Pakistan proceeds with reference to the Mumbai terror attacks. Saeed was the brain behind that attack on India. So, I think we expect Pakistan to act swiftly,” Krishna said, ahead of his meeting with Shah Mehmood Qureshi on September 27.

He said India’s position had always been consistent that those responsible for the Mumbai attack be brought to justice. “They will have to be dealt with and then brought to justice. I think simply that is the position India has taken and I reiterate that position,” he added.

Krishna and Qureshi are expected to meet on the sidelines of the New York General Assembly on September 27 in the latest high-level contact between the two countries.

Foreign Secretaries of the two countries would meet on September 26 to prepare the ground for the key engagement.

India had pressed Pakistan to take action against Saeed and has handed over several dossiers of evidence to Pakistan to enable his prosecution.

Qureshi underlined that he had the mandate from President Asif Ali Zardari to normalise relations with India.

“I am here with a constructive mind. I have the instruction from the president to move on. We want to normalise relations with India,” he stressed.

Saeed was yesterday placed “under house arrest” in Lahore for inciting people to wage ‘jehad’. — PTI