Upping its ante, New Delhi will seek “parity” with Islamabad on the latter’s demand to send a judicial commission to India when Union home secretary G.K. Pillai meets his counterpart Pakistan interior secretary Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, for the home-secretary level talks between India and Pakistan to be held in March end. The home
ministry has finalised the dates for the talks between March 20 and March 30 and the ministry of external affairs will soon extend an invitation to Islamabad sharing the twin dates.
Top government sources told this newspaper that Mr Pillai will impress upon his counterpart that the Pakistani government should allow a team from India to visit that country to question LeT terrorists, including Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, in connection with the 26/11 terror attacks and get voice samples of the masterminds who were guiding the 26/11 attackers in Mumbai which claimed 166 lives.
Since there is no Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between both countries, New Delhi would seek Islamabad’s cooperation asking it to accede to its request of sending a team to that country. It would be indicated that Pakistan needs to take action against perpetrators of 26/11 and share evidence related to disclosures made by American-Pakistani LeT operative David Headley, to show its seriousness in bringing the 26/11 perpetrators to book. The government is already planning to use a legal route to approach Pakistan seeking details related to Headley’s assets and bank accounts in that country.