Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday conveyed to Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khan its protest over her meeting Kashmiri separatist leaders when she called on party leaders L.K. Advani and Sushma Swaraj.

“She (Sushma Swaraj) conveyed her protest over Khar’s meeting…with the separatist leaders of Kashmir during her first visit to India as foreign minister,” a BJP statement said.

“The other important point conveyed by her was about the dismal progress over the trial of the accused terrorists in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack currently undergoing in Pakistan,” it added.

The statement said there was virtually no progress in the 26/11 trial in Pakistan. “Four presiding judges have already been transferred and the fifth judge has joined recently. Three prosecutors have also been changed and of 100 named witnesses till date only one has been examined,” it said.

Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj told the visiting Pakistan minister that satisfactory progress in the trial of 26/11 Mumbai terror accused was the most important confidence building measure (CBM) as far as India was concerned, and in the absence of any worthwhile progress on this front, other CBMs did not have much relevance.

The BJP leader hoped that Pakistan would “act against the accused terrorists speedily and without fail”.

Khar met Advani and Sushma Swaraj as part of a broader political outreach to seek across the party support for the revived peace process.

However, no meeting was scheduled between Khar and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

“She (Sonia Gandh) was preoccupied and no meeting was scheduled,” a Congress leader told IANS.