M A I N   N E W S

India to talk tough with Pak
Ajay Banerjee writes from Islamabad

The Issues India will take up issue of Pak army involvement in Mumbai attacks India will provide to Islamabad the latest evidence of how three Pakistan Army officers were hand-in glove with David Headley while he was planning the Mumbai incidents India will reiterate its demand for the voice samples of Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi of the LeT The Indian delegation will also draw the attention of the Pakistani side towards intrusion in Jammu and Kashmir

India and Pakistan are set to hold intensive parleys over the next three days, aimed at finding ways and means to normalise bilateral ties, which touched a new low in the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

The accusatory and finger-pointing mode since the Mumbai carnage has toned down but there is no dilution in New Delhi’s stand that Pakistan must bring to justice the perpetrators of the attacks.

India will also provide to Islamabad the latest evidence of how three Pakistan Army officers were hand-in glove with David Coleman Headley while he was planning the Mumbai incidents in collaboration with the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).

The home ministers of the two countries, P Chidambaram and Rehman Malik, will hold a one-to-one meeting, possibly on June 25, a day before the SAARC Interior Ministers’ conference.

Armed with fresh proof of uninterrupted activities of “jehadi” groups in Pakistan, the Indian side, that comprises Chidambaram, Home Secretary GK Pillai and Director of Intelligence Bureau Rajiv Mathur, among others, is gearing up to do some “plain-speaking” with the Pakistani side on anti-India terrorism and rhetoric originating from the neighbouring country.

Starting tomorrow, the home secretaries, the foreign secretaries and the intelligence chiefs of the two countries will meet each other. While foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will do the groundwork for the foreign minister-level talks between India and Pakistan slated for July 15, Pillai and his team will work on the security aspect and terrorism.

The nuclear-armed neighbours are looking to pick up the threads of the dialogue from where they left in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. Pakistan is insisting on the resumption of the composite dialogue while India says the two countries must first overcome the trust deficit before doing serious business with each other.

“The upcoming meetings are exploratory in nature. The content of the discussion is important and not the nomenclature or labels. However, we are prepared to discuss every issue”, official sources said.

On the security front, Indian home ministry officials are clear that they can’t expect any gilded or iron-cast assurances on terror. However, they will flag their concerns on key issues and gauge Pakistan’s response.

“It will be imprudent to believe that Pakistan will give any assurance?. The Indian home minister during his meeting with Rehman Malik will present certain key facts on terrorism directed against India, cross-border infiltration and continuation of training camps for militants and anti-India groups,” the sources said.

The interrogation of David Headley carried out by the National Investigation Agency in the US a couple of weeks ago, had revealed how he was in regular touch with three officers of the Pakistan Army. Indian will seek action against them. India has been impressing on Pakistan to take action against Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, who New Delhi believes is the key plotter of the Mumbai attacks.

In addition, India will reiterate its demand for the voice samples of Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi of the LeT. These are needed to match them with the voices of the handlers of the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai. India already has recorded voice samples that were recorded from telephonic intercepts during the attacks.

The Indian delegation will also draw the attention of the Pakistani side towards intrusion in Jammu and Kashmir as security agencies have reported a sharp rise in the infiltration attempts across the Line of Control (LoC).

The other serious issue will be the fake Indian currency notes. India will point out that a major chunk of the fake notes were being routed through Pakistan. Humanitarian issues like repatriation of fishermen caught in each others territorial waters and relaxation of visa regimes will also come up. India has a list of some 42 criminals who are wanted for crimes in India that could also come up during the talks.