Zeenews Bureau
London: Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Friday demanded "positive and visible" Pakistani action against those responsible for the 26/11 terrorist outrage after his counterpart S.M. Qureshi made the extraordinary claim that New Delhi spoke in two voices over Pakistan.
"I don`t want to react harshly to what my esteemed friend Mr Qureshi is reported to have said. India, I would like to reiterate, wants friendly, normal relations with Pakistan and the road blocks which I have pointed out to Mr Qureshi for restoring the relationship have to be cleared," Krishna said.
"I hope Pakistan will take positive visible steps to investigate fully the attacks on Mumbai and bring those responsible to justice. This is the only response we expect from Pakistan, which we feel is yet to be done," he told IANS.
Qureshi had said he had given Krishna a “crisp proposal and a roadmap” on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last year “but he hasn’t got back to me”.
“That means he has nothing to offer,” he told Indian journalists at the end of an international conference on Afghanistan in London.
“India is confused over whether they should engage with Pakistan or shy away - rootha hua role adaa karein (act like someone who has been hurt).”
He said “the public stance adopted by the Indian Foreign Office is somewhat different from the private stance”, where Indians acknowledged post-26/11 Pakistani cooperation as “unprecedented”.
“But they are not willing to publicly admit that.”
Krishna rejected the claim, saying: "I don`t know what makes him say that the MEA speaks in two voices. I think there is total unity of thinking in the ministry and unity of approach on Pakistan."
Qureshi described the exclusion of Pakistani players from the Indian Premier League as a “faux-pas”.
The inclusion of Pakistani players of international stature “would have added quality”, said Qureshi.
Coming face-to-face at the meet hosted by British Premier
Gordon Brown, Krishna and Qureshi yesterday shook hands and
exchanged pleasantries but did not have a separate meeting.
"People who are sitting in the epicentre of terror, I
think they should look inwards and they should introspect,"
Krishna said.
On the issue of Afghanistan, the two Foreign Ministers
differed on India`s role in the war-torn country.
"Afghanistan is a sovereign country and they can have
their relation. We don`t have to tell them what to do and what
not to do. But Afghanistan also realises that in the immediate
future, countries that can be immediate assistance to
Afghanistan are the immediate neighbours," Qureshi said.
In his remarks on the issue, Krishna asserted that "the
welfare and well-being of Afghanistan is one of the top
priorities of India`s foreign policy."
Agencies inputs
