External affairs minister S.M. Krishna began his Pakistan visit Wednesday by reminding his hosts that justice must not only be done to India’s “core concern of terrorism” but must be seen to be done. He indicated there was enough evidence to link Pakistan to the Mumbai terror attacks, a charge repeated on the eve of the minister’s visit by
home secretary G.K. Pillai, who said Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence had controlled and coordinated the attacks “from the beginning till the end”.
“I look forward to receiving feedback on the issues raised by our home minister (P. Chidambaram) in Pakistan last month on our core concern of terrorism, particularly in the light of the discussions our home minister had in Pakistan in the context of the interrogation of David Coleman Headley,” Mr Krishna said in Islamabad as he began “a new journey” to foster better ties with Pakistan.
“This is an important visit as it marks the beginning of a new journey in our efforts to build a peaceful, friendly and cooperative relationship between our two countries,” Mr Krishna said in a brief statement. “I am carrying with me a message of peace and friendship from the people of India and we hope to undertake this voyage of peace, however long and arduous, jointly with the government and people of Pakistan,” he added.
Mr Krishna will hold delegation-level talks with his Pakistan counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday.