Pakistan said on Thursday it would provide consular access for Indonesia to identify a suspect of the 2002 Bali bombing arrested by its security agencies.
A security official had said on Wednesday that a man thought to be Umar Patek, an alleged mastermind of the bombing that killed more than 200 people, was in Pakistani custody.
“I can confirm the arrest of an individual, who could be the Bali bombing suspect,” Foreign ministry spokesperson Tehmina Janjua told a press briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, adding that “consular access will be given to the Indonesian mission and it will be for them to determine who exactly the person is”.
Patek, who has a $1 million bounty on his head, was the alleged field coordinator for the Bali nightclub attacks.
Meanwhile, on the meeting between Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday, she said that it is hoped that dialogue with India is uninterrupted.
Mohali was a win-win situ ation for the Pakistan-India process of engagement and Islamabad is committed to a constructive and sustained relationship, Tehmina Janjua said.
We believe that dialogue can solve all contentious issues including that of Jammu and Kashmir, Janjua said.
On the Mumbai attacks trial, the spokesperson said a judicial commission from Pakistan will go to meet Ajmal Kasab in India. “The dates will be decided by India in four to six weeks,” he said.
She also said that Pakistan will receive a commission from India for the Mumbai attacks investigations, as was decided in a recent meeting between the interior secretaries of both countries. The Indian commission will talk to investigators on the issue.
A complete list of prisoners in each other’s custody will be exchanged on July 1, 2011.
The FO spokesperson further said that Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue of seeking Indian support for an EU trade waiver and will continue to do so.
On the desecration of the Holy Quran by an American pastor, Janjua said the issue had been taken up at the highest level with the international community.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has invited Prime Minister Gilani to visit Afghanistan and his invitation is being considered, she said.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 1st, 2011.
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