TEHRAN: Ahead of tomorrow’s meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Asif Ali Zardari, India today said it was sure that Pakistan would not fail to take note of the Supreme Court verdict upholding the death sentence of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist in the 26/11 attacks.
Asserting that the issue of terrorism was of concern to the international community, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said the entire gamut of bilateral ties will be discussed during the Indo-Pak talks, implying that terror will be the prime focus during the parleys.
“The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in India and when it announces something it becomes law of the land. Other things will follow,” he said of the apex court verdict upholding the death sentence of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack convict Kasab.
“I am sure Pakistan will not fail to take note of it,” Krishna said and quickly added that the Pakistani judiciary is also proactive.
Krishna, who is here for the Non-Aligned Movement’s ministerial conference, made the remarks ahead of Singh’s meeting with Zardari tomorrow evening on the sidelines of the NAM Summit.
Singh arrived here yesterday on a four-day visit to attend the Summit and hold crucial bilateral meetings with the Iranian leadership, apart from holding parleys with the leaders of other countries like Bangladesh and Nepal. India has already made a clear distinction between the Mumbai terror attacks and Samjhauta train blasts, saying the two were “very different” and at some stage Islamabad needs to “come clean” on this.
Asserting that India has provided enough evidence to show involvement of not only non-state actors but also of official hierarchy in 26/11 attacks, government sources said Singh will raise the issue of terrorism, which is of prime concern to the country, with Zardari, who is arriving here tomorrow to participate in the 16th NAM summit.
The government sources said other bilateral issues will also be discussed during the Singh-Zardari meeting.
Asked about Pakistan equating the Mumbai attacks, in which 166 people were killed, with Samjhauta Express blasts in which 67 Pakistani nationals died, sources said, “… there is no comparison. We have shown the will to take action, not chosen to make statements of convenience”.
The sources also noted that India had managed to convict some of those involved in the Mumbai attacks through the same set of evidence which was provided to Islamabad in a trial which was not a “show trial”.
Pakistan keeps switching judges, and people inside the jails are using mobile phones to run their network, the sources said, clearly expressing India’s unhappiness over the slow progress of the 26/11 trial in that country.
The remarks, which were made in the backdrop of Pakistan equating the two incidents to project that it is also a victim of terrorism, also assume significance given that they come before the structured Indo-Pak talks between their Foreign Ministers in Islamabad next week. -PTI
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