Thaindian News

New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS) In the first high-level official conversation between the two countries in months, Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Wednesday spoke to his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi and asked him to expedite the probe to bring to justice terrorists linked to the 26/11 Mumbai massacre.
Krishna and Qureshi also reviewed the status of the trial in Pakistan of some of the accused and proclaimed offenders in the terror strike that killed 166 Indians and foreigners.

Conveying his New Year wishes to Qureshi, Krishna underlined the need to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice expeditiously. He said India should be kept informed of the progress of the trial, the external affairs ministry reported.

Krishna asked Pakistan “to unravel the full conspiracy behind the Mumbai terrorist attack and act on the leads provided and available in Pakistan”, the ministry said in a statement.

Krishna said India should be kept informed about the investigation.

India put the composite dialogue with Pakistan on pause after the 26/11 attack involving 10 Pakistani terrorists who sneaked into Mumbai by sea and went on a killing spree.

Reiterating India’s concerns over cross-border terror, Krishna asked Islamabad to take “effective steps to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism which exists in Pakistan and continues to be used for anti-India activities”.

He thanked Pakistan for the recent release of 100 Indian fishermen and expressed the hope that over 500 Indian fishermen and 400 Indian fishing boats still in Pakistan’s custody would also be freed soon.

India released 31 Pakistani fishermen and will soon free the 19 remaining ones whose nationality has been confirmed by Pakistan, Krishna told Qureshi.

“The two leaders agreed to pursue further cooperation on other humanitarian issues such as those relating to prisoners,” the ministry said.