Raghvendra Rao
New Delhi : India will engage in some “straight talk” with Pakistan when Union Home Minister P Chidambaram meets his Pakistan counterpart Rehman Malik in a one-on-one meeting on June 25 on the sidelines of the SAARC Interior Ministers’ Conference.According to sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), matters related to terrorism are expected to dominate the bilateral engagement between the two Home Ministers. “We will have to see what the Pakistan side has to say on terror-related issues. The 30-40 minute interaction between both the Home Ministers is likely to witness some straight talk from the Indian side,” sources told the The Indian Express, adding that “too much” should not be expected in terms of “concrete outcomes” from this meeting.
In addition to reiterating its demand for the voice samples of Lashkar-e-Toiba founder Hafiz Saeed and commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi so that it could match them with the voices of the handlers of the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008, the Indian side, sources said, was also likely to renew its demand seeking the trial of Hafiz Saeed for his alleged role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Chidambaram is also expected to drive home the message that Pakistan needed to expedite the process of bringing the real perpetrators of the 26/11 attacks to justice. “If they do not bring the others to trial, then I would have to conclude reluctantly and regretfully that they are dragging their feet,” Chidambaram had said in January this year. “Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi is one of the masterminds. There are others. We know their names and Pakistan also knows their names.”
Pakistani-American terror suspect David Coleman Headley, too, is likely to figure in the talks between the two Home Ministers, with Chidambaram expected to share fresh information on Headley’s Pakistan link and his role in the 26/11 strikes. With the National Investigation Agency (NIA) having recently questioned Headley in the United States, sources said the Indian side was now armed with fresh information on Headley, who has already pleaded guilty to his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
With Indian security agencies reporting a sharp rise in the infiltration attempts across the Line of Control in Jammu & Kashmir, Chidambaram is expected to take up this matter with his Pakistan counterpart as well.
Chidambaram, who will fly to Islamabad in a special plane on June 25, is slated to make a courtesy call on Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi.
Home Secretary G K Pillai along with Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and other government officials will fly to Islamabad in a special plane on June 23. Both Pillai and Rao are slated to have meetings with their Pakistan counterparts on June 24.
In addition to reiterating its demand for the voice samples of Lashkar-e-Toiba founder Hafiz Saeed and commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi so that it could match them with the voices of the handlers of the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008, the Indian side, sources said, was also likely to renew its demand seeking the trial of Hafiz Saeed for his alleged role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Chidambaram is also expected to drive home the message that Pakistan needed to expedite the process of bringing the real perpetrators of the 26/11 attacks to justice. “If they do not bring the others to trial, then I would have to conclude reluctantly and regretfully that they are dragging their feet,” Chidambaram had said in January this year. “Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi is one of the masterminds. There are others. We know their names and Pakistan also knows their names.”
Pakistani-American terror suspect David Coleman Headley, too, is likely to figure in the talks between the two Home Ministers, with Chidambaram expected to share fresh information on Headley’s Pakistan link and his role in the 26/11 strikes. With the National Investigation Agency (NIA) having recently questioned Headley in the United States, sources said the Indian side was now armed with fresh information on Headley, who has already pleaded guilty to his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
With Indian security agencies reporting a sharp rise in the infiltration attempts across the Line of Control in Jammu & Kashmir, Chidambaram is expected to take up this matter with his Pakistan counterpart as well.
Chidambaram, who will fly to Islamabad in a special plane on June 25, is slated to make a courtesy call on Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi.
Home Secretary G K Pillai along with Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and other government officials will fly to Islamabad in a special plane on June 23. Both Pillai and Rao are slated to have meetings with their Pakistan counterparts on June 24.
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