External affairs minister S.M. Krishna’s remarks on Hafiz Saeed came close on the heels of Islamabad saying just a day earlier that it is looking forward to a “constructive engagement” between Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when they meet in New Delhi on Sunday. But there was an important corollary to this too, with Islamabad also making it clear that there would be no compromise on the “core issue” of Kashmir or maintaining a credible nuclear deterrence.
Mr Krishna’s assertion of India having provided Pakistan with all documentary evidence pointing to Saeed’s involvement in 26/11 came close on the heels of a similar statement by Union home minister P. Chidambaram. The remarks came after the US put out a bounty of $10 million for the capture of Saeed earlier this week.
On Friday, Mr Krishna said, “The dossier that the home minister has provided to the Pakistan government contains every detail of Saeed’s involvement in the planning and execution of the terrorist attack on Mumbai.”
He further said that no denials would exonerate those involved unless there is a judicial enquiry into the entire episode to fix responsibility. He added: “Unfortunately, the Pakistan government has not thought it proper to investigate this.”
Saeed, it is expected, will figure in the discussions that Dr Singh and President Zardari have shortly before they sit down for lunch at the former’s 7, Race Course Road residence in the capital.
In Pakistan, the US bounty has prompted protests by Islamist right-wing organisations, among them the Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) which Saeed heads. Among other things, they want Mr Zardari to cancel his India visit. Delhi has been quite tightlipped about its expectations from the Zardari-Singh meeting.
while insisting more than once that it is a “private” visit, Islamabad has been more forthcoming. It has expressed hope that the April 8 meeting will contribute to regional peace.