Ahead of a possible meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, India on Tuesday made a clear distinction between Mumbai terror attacks and Samjhauta train blasts, saying the two were “very different” and at some stage Islamabad needs to “come clean” on this.
Asserting that India has provided enough evidence to show involvement of not only non-state actors but also of official hierarchy in 26/11, government sources said Dr Singh will raise the issue of terrorism, which is of prime concern to the country, with Mr Zardari, who is also arriving here on Thursday to participate in the 16th NAM summit.
Dr Singh is on a four-day visit here to attend the summit and will also hold crucial bilateral meetings with the Iranian leadership, apart from holding parleys with the leaders of Bangladesh, Nepal and other countries.
The government sources said other bilateral issues will also be discussed during the Singh-Zardari meeting on the sidelines of the summit.
India, which has already indicated the time on Thursday to Islamabad for the meeting, is awaiting a confirmation from the Pakistani side for the same, officials said.
Asked about Pakistan equating Mumbai attacks, in which 166 people were killed, and Samjhauta Express blasts in which 67 Pakistani nationals died, sources said, “... There is no comparison. We have shown the will to take action, not chosen to make statements of convenience”. The sources also noted that India had managed to convict some of those involved in the Mumbai attacks through the same set of evidence which was provided to Islamabad in a trial which was not a “show trial”.
Pakistan keeps switching judges, and people inside the jails are using mobile phones to run their network, the sources said, clearly expressing India’s unhappiness over the slow progress of the 26/11 trial in that country.