Talks continue in long-running disputes between India and Pakistan, including the 60-mile Sir Creek, a strip of water in uninhabited marshlands which opens up into the Arabian Sea. But Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that he wants to see serious progress by Pakistan in bringing those responsible for the 2008 Mumbai massacre to justice. More from The Times of India:
Returning from Tehran, where he had a long bilateral meeting with Pakistani president Asif Zardari, the PM said, "There must be a genuine feeling that Pakistan is doing all that it could do to deal with terrorism directed against India from Pak soil. The court trial of Mumbai massacre is a crucial test of Pakistan's sincerity to bring perpetrators to justice." He said both Zardari and adviser to the interior ministry Rehman Malik had assured him that they were doing all they could, subject to the vagaries of the judicial process.
"I also said Sir Creek, which we had talked about during his (Zardari's) visit to Ajmer, was doable," Singh said.
The PM's keenness to travel to Pakistan is well known. Foreign minister S M Krishna will be in Pakistan next week, to wrap up one set of composite dialogue and begin another. He is also expected to sign a MoU with Pakistan. Commerce secretaries of both countries are also due to meet soon to take decisions on Customs, dispute settlement etc. as well as opening up the land border for trade.
On LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind behind 26/11, the PM said India would not let anyone off the hook. "Everybody who has committed crimes have to be brought under appropriate justice mechanisms."
India's supreme court this week confirmed the death sentence for Pakistan-born Mohammed Kasab, the lone surviving gunman in the attacks that left 166 dead.
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