India to seek action on Headley's revelations
Islamabad: The stage is set for the meeting between External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and PakistaniForeign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad on Thursday. Krishna held informal talks Qureshi on Wednesday evening with sources telling CNN-IBN that he assured the Pakistani Minister that India no more treats Pakistan as its enemy and highlighted the need to act against terror jointly since terror is a common threat for both the countries.
Krishna reportedly told Qureshi that Pakistan must speed up 26/11 trial and must also act against the eight suspects named by Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram.
Qureshi will host Krishna for formal talks at 11 AM. The ministers are then expected to meet one-on-one and then go into the delegation level talks. They will then hold a joint press conference but no joint statement is expected. Krsihna will be also call on Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari. The agenda is clear for Krishna - cross-border terror and revelations by Lashkar-e-Toiba operative David Coleman Headley on the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Krishna's meetings with his Pakistani counterpart will mark a new chapter in dialogue almost 20 months after the Mumbai terror attacks, as well as the end of the steps proposed by the prime ministers of the two countries in Thimphu in April, aimed at putting talks back on track.
"We hope to undertake this voyage of peace, however long and arduous, jointly with the Government and people of Pakistan," said Krishna after his arrival at Islamabad airport on Wednesday.
But could the Headley revelations derail the voyage? Speaking exclusively to CNN-IBN, Pakistan's Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira called Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai's revelations that Headley had named the Pakistani intelligence agency, the ISI, as a planner of the 26/11 attacks disappointing.
"Allegations like India is making blaming the ISI for 26/11 should not be made. They may hinder the peace process. No government agency or state actor is involved," said Kaira.
But External Affairs Ministry sources say terror will top the agenda as the two sides prepare to re-engage, saying they will discuss: the progress made by Pakistan on 26/11 promises, action on Headley's interrogation and action against Hafeez Saeed in 26/11 case and curbs on his hate speech. The meeting could also announce a date for the home secretaries of the two countries to meet on the issues as well.
Apart from terror the delegations have a full plate of peace initiatives to discuss. There will be meetings meeting between commerce and cultural secretaries and a memorandum of understanding between ICCR and Pakistan's cultural centre. There will be visits by parliamentary delegations, issuing more visas and freeing prisoners, and jailed fisherman.
The talks come nearly a year to the day the Sharm-el Sheikh joint statement was signed. While that initiative to peace came a cropper soon after, both sides say they hope this one in Islamabad will lead to a more realistic and sustainable dialogue in the future.
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