India wants Pakistan to fight all terrorists with ’same force’

ON BOARD SPECIAL AIRCRAFT - India Thursday asked Pakistan to “show the same force” in fighting anti-India terrorists on its soil as it has done in combating the Taliban and other militants ranged against the West.

“Pakistan has taken certain steps like fighting the Taliban in the Swat valley,” External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told journalists when asked if Islamabad was showing commitment in fighting terrorists who target India.

“We expect Pakistan should go after the terrorists, who are targeting India, with the same force,” he added.

He was interacting with journalists while returning from the Thai island resort of Phuket, where he participated in the 16th ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) Regional Forum (ARF) meeting.

Asked about Jamaat-ud-Daawa (JuD) chief Hafeez Saeed, suspected to be a mastermind of the Nov 26 Mumbai terrorist attacks, Krishna said Pakistani authorities had made an appeal in court against his recent release. “The law should take its course,” he said.

“Pakistan should take action against any head of a terrorist organisation working against India,” he added.

India had held the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which morphed into JuD after restrictions, responsible for the Nov 26 Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in Phuket that Islamabad will take action against the LeT if proof was found of its involvement in the Mumbai mayhem.

“We will take action against LeT if any proof is found,” Qureshi told reporters.

“We are waiting for the confessional statement of Kasab though appropriate channels,” Qureshi said, referring to the confession Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone Mumbai attacker in Indian custody, made in a Mumbai court Monday.

Qureshi’s comments come days after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani met on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh July 16, and agreed to delink action on terror from the composite dialogue process.

Kasab, the only surviving member of the 10-member terrorist squad from Pakistan, Monday confessed his role in the mayhem that left over 170 people killed. He also admitted his nationality as Pakistani and provided details of the conspiracy and planning.

Krishna and Qureshi did meet in Phuket but they only exchanged greetings and left bilateral talks for their interaction on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September.

“We exchanged greetings when we met each other at the dinner hosted by Thailand (for foreign ministers of ASEAN and East Asia Summit countries) last night (Wednesday),” Krishna told reporters in Phuket.

“Perhaps we will be meeting in New York in September. Modalities are being discussed,” Krishna said. “It’s unlikely we are going to be in the same room before the UNGA.”

According to the India-Pakistan joint statement issued in Egypt, the foreign secretaries of the two countries will meet as often as possible ahead of the meeting between the foreign ministers in New York.

Without naming Pakistan, Krishna Thursday drew the attention of Asian countries to “India’s terror-infested neighbourhood” and called for quicker intelligence sharing and effective cooperation to combat terrorism.

“Without naming Pakistan, I spoke about the Mumbai terror attacks. We talked about our terror-infested neighbourhood,” Krishna said when asked whether he highlighted Pakistan’s alleged complicity in the Mumbai attacks and other incidents of terrorism in India at the ARF.

Krishna said he placed the issue of terrorism upfront at the retreat of 27 foreign ministers of the ARF, Asia’s top security gathering that concluded in Phuket Thursday.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were among those who participated in the meeting.