No amount of denial by Pakistan can exonerate Saeed: Krishna
Two days before Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's visit, India on Friday insisted that all the details of involvement of Hafiz Saeed in the deadly 26/11 attacks have been provided and no amount of denial by Islamabad can exonerate the JuD chief's role in the terror strikes.
"The dossier that the Home Minister has provided to the Pakistan government contains every detail of Saeed's involvement in the planning and execution of terrorist attack on Mumbai," External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters here.
Krishna was asked about Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's remarks that the matter of Saeed is an "internal issue" and if there is any concrete proof against the outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief then it should be provided to Pakistan.
"So no amount of denial would exonerate them unless there is a judicial enquiry into the whole episode whereby responsibilities can be fixed but unfortunately Pakistan government has not thought it proper to investigate this," he said.
Gilani had made the remarks while responding to points raised by lawmakers during a joint session of Pakistan's National Assembly and Senate about the USD 10 million bounty offered by the US for information that could be used for Saeed's prosecution.
Asked whether Saeed issue will figure in the luncheon meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Zardari in Delhi on Sunday, Krishna said all bilateral issues are likely to figure in the talks.
"All bilateral issues are likely to be discussed. After all it is a private visit of President Zardari to India and he is coming on a religious mission to Ajmer and I do not know whether they will have time enough to go into greater details," Krishna said.
"But the very fact that the Prime Minister is hosting a lunch in honour of President Zardari, they might get a chance to touch upon some of the bilateral issues," he added.
Zardari is coming to India to visit the Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer. Before travelling to Ajmer, Zardari will meet Singh over lunch in New Delhi.
Krishna said bilateral ties between the two neighbours are 'looking up' in the last couple of years although there are number of issues to be resolved.
Referring to Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar's visit to New Delhi last year, Krishna said she conveyed to him that there has been a 'change in mindset' in Pakistan towards India.
"She pointedly told me in private and later she repeated that before media also that there is a mindset which has changed in Pakistan and she brings that mindset into the bilateral discussions with India," he said.
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