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NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s real test that it is acting against India-specific terror will come when it acts “decisively” against Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed, Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna has said.
In an interview with Times of India, Krishna indicated that foreign secretaries’ talks would be “futile” if Pakistan did not create a “favourable” atmosphere.
The sentiment is a marked departure by India from the Indo-Pak joint statement that said foreign secretaries would meet “as often as necessary”.
“Unless they address our concerns on terror and as the PM put it, create a favourable atmosphere for talks, talks will be futile. For any talks you have to build a favourable atmosphere, trust needs to be built up.”
“In its absence, regardless of how many times the PMs or foreign ministers meet or foreign secretaries meet, it will have no impact. Pakistan should address our terror concerns, move decisively against those people named by India, and then tackle them accordingly. This will be the first indication to the government of India that they are moving decisively to tackle terror,” the minister said.
Asking Pakistan to “come clean”, Krishna said, “We have provided, according to our judgment and assessment, enough evidence to punish anybody for terror-related activities. We know for a fact that Hafiz Saeed is the mastermind of Mumbai attacks. We also know that UN Security Council has passed a resolution where Hafiz Saeed has been named a terrorist.” Equating the al-Qaida and LeT, Krishna said he saw a pattern in their targeting of India.
“The al-Qaida and LeT are all different names but they work in tandem for the same purpose ? to destabilise India and divert our attention from the path of development. I’m afraid the whole exercise of these terror activities from Pakistan is to divert us from our progress,” he said.
“We should put them on notice,” the foreign minister added. “We want Pakistan to bring the same kind of seriousness that they are employing against the Taliban in Swat to the terrorists against India.”