Prime Minister Manmohan Singh clearly told Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari at their talks here Sunday that progress in bilateral relations rested entirely on the way Islamabad handled terrorism, stressing that those behind the 26/11 Mumbai attack must be brought to justice.
The Prime Minister also accepted Mr Zardari’s invitation to visit Pakistan, and hoped such a visit would take the peace process forward. Dr Singh also brought up the activities of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba chief Hafiz Saeed, the 26/11 mastermind, on whom the US has recently put a $10 million bounty.
Foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai told reporters the PM “accepted the invitation with pleasure, and said he would be happy to visit at an appropriate time”. Mr Mathai added mutually acceptable dates would be worked out later.
The PM told Mr Zardari it was “imperative to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack to justice”, Mr Mathai said. Mr Zardari responded the matter needs to be discussed further, but also maintained his country too was a victim of terrorism. The foreign secretary described the conversations between the two leaders as “friendly and constructive”. The one-on-one talks lasted 40 minutes, 10 more than the slotted time. After the luncheon, which lasted an hour, Mr Zardari left with his son Bilawal for Ajmer.
On “core issues” like Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek, the two sides noted Sir Creek was “doable”. MEA sources said later it was an “important issue” on which India wanted to see “good progress”. Mr Mathai said President Zardari noted all issues, including these three, must be addressed, and both sides “need to move forward step by step”. Kashmir was “mentioned”, and both sides agreed it should be discussed, sources said, but did not go into any specifics.