In one of the major outcomes of the talks, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, speaking to the media in the presence of Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram, also said that Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) would work with India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to not only probe the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, but also to tackle terrorism in general.
Earlier, there was no way to gauge what the outcome had been of the talks, until Malik, talking separately to the media, broke the uncertainty by saying that Islamabad would provide India with voice samples for investigations into, as requested.
India sought the voice samples in a dossier given to Pakistan last week and Chidambaram is understood to have raised this issue at the meeting with Malik. Investigators in India want the voice samples of people identified in the dossiers, to match them with the recordings of conversations between the 26/11 attackers and their handlers.
Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram also came out separately and said that Friday’s meeting was a “good” one, and that he was “confident that something good will emerge.”
The statements set the wheels in motion for what would ultimately come to be a positive atmosphere.
Addressing a press conference at the end of Saarc Interior/Home minister conference, Chidambaram said they both identified what needs to be done other than what has already been done. “I think the meeting that I had with Rehman Malik was a good meeting. We spoke with each other. We spoke directly to each other and I am confident that something good will emerge out of that meeting. So, let’s try to remain positive,” he said.
He said Mumbai attacks had disrupted the dialogue process between the two countries, but the prime ministers, foreign ministers and now interior ministers were meeting, which were positive developments.
“How far the [Mumbai attacks] prosecution has proceeded, it is for the Pakistani government to tell,” he said, when asked about the status of Pakistan’s trial of the case.
However, there were still some reservations from India. Chidambaram said that presently seven people were prosecuted for Mumbai attacks in Pakistan, but India demands prosecution of more people. “More people were behind the Mumbai attacks and more people should be prosecuted,” he said.
Chidambaram also vowed to bring the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks to justice.
On a lighter note, Chidambaram told reporters during the press conference that at his meeting with Malik, the Indian flag was displayed upside. He spotted the error, and brought it to the notice of Malik, who regretted the incident and had it corrected.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik presided over the meeting of Saarc Interior Ministers Conference here on Saturday. Addressing the session, Malik presented Pakistan’s policy for regional cooperation and highlighted the objectives of the conference.
The conference passed resolutions for regional cooperation against terrorism and smuggling while India stressed effective multilateral cooperation to tackle terrorism, declaring it biggest challenge to the region. It issued a joint declaration revealing that the member countries, especially Pakistan and India, agreed over cooperation against terrorism, adding that South Asian countries vowed that no member country’s soil should be used against another.
Speaking at a news conference after the meeting, Saarc Secretary-General Sheel Kant Sharma said that the interior ministers’ conference expressed deep concern at the scourge of terrorism afflicting the region which has caused extensive loss of human life, destruction and damage to property.
He said that the meeting agreed that all member states shall extend cooperation to each other against terrorism while remaining within the purview of national laws and procedures and international commitments, and following the principle of non-interference and non-intervention in each others’ affairs.
Responding to a question, he said Pakistan and India have always shown maturity to keep intact the Saarc platform despite their differences, adding that both the countries have been supporting the Saarc decisions. He said the next meeting of Saarc interior ministers would be held in Bhutan next year, and prior to the meeting technical sessions would be held at the end of this year.
He also read out the “Islamabad Saarc Ministerial Statement on Cooperation against Terrorism” passed at the end of the three-day meeting.
(Additional reporting by Naveed Akbar and Sumera Khan)
Published in The Express Tribune, June 27th, 2010.
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