Singh optimistic about ties with Pakistan

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that there was "some hope" that Pakistan would crack down on militant activity.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Tuesday that there was "some hope" that Pakistan would crack down on militant activity targeting India following talks between the two countries.

The comments came after Pakistan and India announced last weekend that they would fight terrorism together and cooperate on bringing to justice those responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead. "I think there is some hope," Singh told reporters accompanying him aboard a plane carrying him back to India after attending the G20 summit in Toronto.

"In dealing with Pakistan our attitude has to be -- trust -- trust but verify," Singh said, according to a transcript of his comments sent to AFP by the foreign ministry. "So only time will tell which way the animal will turn," Singh said.

Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram and his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik met last weekend and announced they would develop a common anti-terrorism strategy.

The two nuclear-armed countries have embarked on a tentative reconciliation process since relations crashed to a new low after militants went on a rampage in Mumbai in November 2008. Delhi blames the attack on the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and wants more action from Islamabad to bring the masterminds to justice.