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| India puts off talks with Pak | | |
New Delhi Sep 1: Unhappy with Pakistan's lack of action against the Mumbai attackers after the Sharm el-Sheikh summit meeting, India has decided to put on hold a meeting between the foreign secretaries who were expected to meet this month.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao is unlikely to go to Islamabad for talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Basheer before the foreign ministers of the two countries meet in New York later this month, official sources said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani met at Egypt's Sharm-el-Sheikh resort July 16 and agreed that foreign secretaries should meet "as often as possible," and report to their foreign ministers, who would then hold talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Reports said that the Pakistan has been pitching for a meeting between the foreign secretaries and has indicated that not holding the talks at this level would effectively scupper the meeting between the two foreign ministers.
More than a month after the controversial Sharm-el-Sheikh joint statement that delinked Pakistan's actions against terror from the composite dialogue process, no meeting has been scheduled between the foreign secretaries of the two countries. "There is no decision on the dates yet," a senior official said here today.
New Delhi's reluctance to hold foreign-secretary level talks stems from a growing impression that despite the assurance given to India in Sharm el-Sheikh, Pakistan has virtually taken no action to prosecute the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks, an action that has been sought by the international community including the US.
"We have been sharing evidence. This evidence has been shared in a painstaking and professional manner. But no action has been taken," the official said while underlining India's mounting frustration at Pakistan's attitude.
"Pakistan should take this evidence, study it seriously with utmost care and take leads forward. This is necessary to complete the investigation and to ensure that justice is done," the official said.
"The terror from across the border is an issue of tremendous concern and of continuing concern for India," he said.
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