<p>Highly-placed government sources on Thursday said that Indian focus during the talks on February 25 next would be on terror. “If Pakistan has other concerns, we are willing to address them,” said a senior official involved with the preparation for the talks. <br />The official said that February 13 blast in Pune had just brought India’s concern over terrorism emanating from Pakistan under “sharper focus”. <br /><br />New Delhi, according to the sources, is also likely to ask Islamabad to provide voice-samples of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) ‘commander’ Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi and six others, who were arrested in Pakistan for plotting the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai and are now facing trial in that country itself. <br /><br />Islamabad had on Wednesday sought a clarification from New Delhi on the External Affairs Minister S M Krishna’s remarks that the brief for Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao was to focus on the issue of terror in the talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir.<br /><br />Strong reaction<br />Pakistan also strongly reacted to Krishna’s comment that New Delhi would not resume Composite Dialogue with Islamabad as the latter was yet to seriously address India’s concern on the issue of terrorism. The External Affairs Minister’s remarks were apparently intended to make it clear that the Foreign Secretary level talks should not be seen as a prelude to resumption of the Indo-Pak Composite Dialogue, which was launched in February 2004, but suspended by New Delhi in the wake of the 26/11 carnage in Mumbai. <br /><br />“Outcome of the meeting should not be prejudged nor its scope circumscribed,” Pakistan's Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit said in a statement on Wednesday. <br /><br />Onus on Islamabad<br />Sources in the Government here hinted on Thursday that Pakistan’s responses to the issues raised by India would determine if New Delhi’s move to engage with Islamabad could be carried forward. <br /><br />“The future course of the dialogue would depend on how they respond to our concerns,” said a highly-placed official.<br /><br />Islamabad is expected to take up with New Delhi the contentious issues like Kashmir and alleged Indian role in the unrest in the Balochistan region of Pakistan. “We have no problem discussing issues like Balochistan and Kashmir as our positions (on these issues) are well-known and remain unchanged,” <br /><br />“However, this talk is not aimed at resolving outstanding issues. We are fully conscious of the complexities involved in the process and are therefore adopting a nuanced approach to the dialogue,” said the official.<br /><br />India is likely to ask Pakistan to provide it the voice samples of Lakhvi and other LeT operatives as these are crucial for investigations into the 26/11. <br /><br />“The voice samples will help ascertain if those in custody in Pakistan are the ones who were guiding the 10 terrorists during the attacks,” said a senior security officer.<br /><br />Vibes from India not encouraging<br />Pakistan wants resumption of the stalled composite dialogue with India but “the vibes emanating from the other side have not been encouraging,” Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday, reports PTI from Islamabad.<br /><br />Gilani made the remarks while discussing the state of Indo-Pak relations and the forthcoming foreign secretary-level talks with visiting US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke.<br /><br />Pakistan is committed to peace in the region and the government is “making sincere efforts for resumption of the composite dialogue process with India,” Gilani said.<br />However, he “regretted that the vibes emanating from the other side have not been encouraging.” <br /><br />Relations between India and Pakistan “should not become hostage to the activities of terrorists,” who are the common enemy, Gilani was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office.</p>
<p>Highly-placed government sources on Thursday said that Indian focus during the talks on February 25 next would be on terror. “If Pakistan has other concerns, we are willing to address them,” said a senior official involved with the preparation for the talks. <br />The official said that February 13 blast in Pune had just brought India’s concern over terrorism emanating from Pakistan under “sharper focus”. <br /><br />New Delhi, according to the sources, is also likely to ask Islamabad to provide voice-samples of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) ‘commander’ Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi and six others, who were arrested in Pakistan for plotting the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai and are now facing trial in that country itself. <br /><br />Islamabad had on Wednesday sought a clarification from New Delhi on the External Affairs Minister S M Krishna’s remarks that the brief for Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao was to focus on the issue of terror in the talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir.<br /><br />Strong reaction<br />Pakistan also strongly reacted to Krishna’s comment that New Delhi would not resume Composite Dialogue with Islamabad as the latter was yet to seriously address India’s concern on the issue of terrorism. The External Affairs Minister’s remarks were apparently intended to make it clear that the Foreign Secretary level talks should not be seen as a prelude to resumption of the Indo-Pak Composite Dialogue, which was launched in February 2004, but suspended by New Delhi in the wake of the 26/11 carnage in Mumbai. <br /><br />“Outcome of the meeting should not be prejudged nor its scope circumscribed,” Pakistan's Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit said in a statement on Wednesday. <br /><br />Onus on Islamabad<br />Sources in the Government here hinted on Thursday that Pakistan’s responses to the issues raised by India would determine if New Delhi’s move to engage with Islamabad could be carried forward. <br /><br />“The future course of the dialogue would depend on how they respond to our concerns,” said a highly-placed official.<br /><br />Islamabad is expected to take up with New Delhi the contentious issues like Kashmir and alleged Indian role in the unrest in the Balochistan region of Pakistan. “We have no problem discussing issues like Balochistan and Kashmir as our positions (on these issues) are well-known and remain unchanged,” <br /><br />“However, this talk is not aimed at resolving outstanding issues. We are fully conscious of the complexities involved in the process and are therefore adopting a nuanced approach to the dialogue,” said the official.<br /><br />India is likely to ask Pakistan to provide it the voice samples of Lakhvi and other LeT operatives as these are crucial for investigations into the 26/11. <br /><br />“The voice samples will help ascertain if those in custody in Pakistan are the ones who were guiding the 10 terrorists during the attacks,” said a senior security officer.<br /><br />Vibes from India not encouraging<br />Pakistan wants resumption of the stalled composite dialogue with India but “the vibes emanating from the other side have not been encouraging,” Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday, reports PTI from Islamabad.<br /><br />Gilani made the remarks while discussing the state of Indo-Pak relations and the forthcoming foreign secretary-level talks with visiting US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke.<br /><br />Pakistan is committed to peace in the region and the government is “making sincere efforts for resumption of the composite dialogue process with India,” Gilani said.<br />However, he “regretted that the vibes emanating from the other side have not been encouraging.” <br /><br />Relations between India and Pakistan “should not become hostage to the activities of terrorists,” who are the common enemy, Gilani was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office.</p>
