It’s being described as a “private” visit to India for religious purposes. But with less than 48 hours to go for Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s arrival here, on his way to the dargah at Ajmer Sharif, the atmospherics are anything but private as India and Pakistan engage in an exchange of claims and counter-claims over Lashkar-e-Tayyaba founder and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
Amid this exchange came some optimistic remarks from Washington on the forthcoming visit. The US, whose ties with Islamabad have been under considerable strain for many months, said on Friday that the visit is “very constructive and we’re all for it”.
Striking an optimistic note, US state department spokesman Mark Toner said: “It’s a win-win situation where Pakistan and India are engaging in dialogue, are talking to each other, and are building better cooperation”.
But sparks still flew between the two neighbours. External affairs minister S.M. Krishna fired the first salvo on Friday in Bengaluru, saying India had provided full details on Saeed’s involvement in the Mumbai attacks, and “no amount of denial would exonerate them”. Pakistan responded by claiming India had not provided any “concrete evidence”.
This came a day after Islamabad said it was looking forward to a “constructive engagement” between President Zardari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Sunday.