NEW DELHI: A day after receiving flak over not raising terror issues with Pakistan, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday clarified that minister S M Krishna had indeed raised the issue of slow progress of 26/11 trial ‘forcefully’ during his talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.
MEA’s official spokesperson Vishnu Prakash asserted that the matter of slow pace of 26/11 trial in Pakistan was ‘forcefully’ raised by the External Affairs Minister in a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The clarification was issued after some reports sought to interpret a phrase in the joint statement as stating that India was satisfied with the progress of Pakistani court trial against LeT activists Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and six others.
The joint statement, issued after Khar-Krishna talks on Wednesday, said “the Ministers reviewed the status of bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction over the meetings on counter-terrorism, including progress on Mumbai trial, and narcotics control.
“We categorically reject inferences that there was any expression of satisfaction on ‘the progress on Mumbai trial’,” said the spokesperson, adding, the language of the statement was very clear in this regard.
Prakash said that India had expressed ‘satisfaction’ over holding of the meeting as it was a ‘step forward given the fact that over two years’ substantive dialogue had remained suspended and this had been acknowledged in the statement.
He expressed concern and disappointment over Pakistan about the lack of progress in the Mumbai trial and bringing those responsible before justice.
The public interpretation of the statement had preyed on the minds of the government was clear, with the outgoing Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao herself responding to these criticisms through her twitter account.
“NOT AT ALL! Our concern about Mumbai Trial, it’s glacial pace and need to bring perpetrators to justice emphasised throughout,” Nirupama tweeted, four minutes after midnight of July 27. The ministry pointed out that India had raised the issue of 26/11 trial during the last two meetings of India-Pakistan foreign secretaries, as well as during the home-secretary-level talks in March 2011. In an interview to a private television on Wednesday, Pakistan Foreign Minister had expressed her puzzlement over the ‘media hype’ in India over the delayed trial for the 2008 attacks.
