Krishna spoke to Qureshi over phone and enquired about the status of the trial of the accused and proclaimed offenders in the case related to the November 26, 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
He requested the Pakistani Foreign Minister to ensure that New Delhi was kept informed by Islamabad on the progress in the probe and trial in the 26/11 case.
The External Affairs minister’s call to his Pakistani counterpart was the first high-level contact between Delhi and Islamabad in 2010.
The year 2009 was marked by diplomatic chill between the two countries in the aftermath of the carnage in Mumbai. Krishna conveyed his good wishes to Qureshi for the New Year.
According to a press-statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Krishna and Qureshi reviewed the status of the trial of the accused and proclaimed offenders in the Mumbai terrorist attack case in Pakistan. “He (Krishna) underscored the need for bringing the perpetrators of the attack to justice expeditiously and requested that India be kept informed of the progress of the trial,” it said. Krishna stressed the need for Islamabad to unravel the full conspiracy behind the terrorist attacks in Mumbai following the leads provided and available in Pakistan.
He also pointed out that Pakistan must take effective steps to dismantle the terrorism infrastructure, which existed in Pakistan and continued to be used for activities against India. New Delhi has evidences of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives’ role in the recent terrorist attacks in Srinagar.
In a 22-hour gun battle with security forces on January 6 and 7, two terrorists killed a CRPF driver, a paramilitary soldier and a civilian and injured several others before being shot dead. The Indian intelligence agencies intercepted telephonic conversation between the terrorists and their Pakistan-based handlers, who apparently remote-controlled the entire operation.
Krishna on Wednesday thanked Qureshi for the recent release of 100 Indian fishermen from Pakistan. He expressed the hope that the remaining more than 500 Indian fishermen and over 400 Indian fishing boats still in the custody of Pakistan would also be released soon. He stated that India had released 31 Pakistani fishermen and would soon release the 19 remaining ones, whose nationality has been confirmed by Islamabad.
“The two leaders agreed to pursue further cooperation on other humanitarian issues, such as those relating to prisoners,” stated the MEA press-release.
Krishna had last met Qureshi in Kabul on the sidelines of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai’s swearing-in ceremony in Kabul.
DH News Service
