ISLAMABAD – Pakistan would demand India share details of investigations into the Mumbai attacks and the Samjhota Express, Ajmer Sharif and Mallay village incidents, as the interior secretary-level talks between the two countries are going to resume in India on March 28-29 in New Delhi.
According to an official source, Pakistan would raise the issue of Indian involvement in the troubled areas of Pakistan particularly Balochistan. Besides this, it would ask India to fix the date for Pakistani Judicial Commission’s proposed visit to India to verify the statement of Ajmal Kasab, the main accused of Mumbai attacks, to help accelerate trial of the Mumbai attacks accused arrested in Pakistan.
The source said Interior Secretary Qamar Zaman Chaudhry would lead a delegation comprising representatives of FIA, the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Narcotics Control to India today (Sunday) to engage his Indian counterpart in the dialogue, which would encompass terrorism-related issues, regional security, humanitarian issues involving plight of prisoners and the visa regime between the two countries.
According to him, both countries would discuss terrorism, strategy for checking the menace and possible bilateral cooperation on the issue. Regional security is also included in the agenda for the meeting. Humanitarian issues involving plight of prisoners in both the countries and the issue of fishermen would also figure during the talks.
The strategy for controlling drugs and narcotics smuggling would also be discussed during the meeting, he added. Meeting of the chief of Anti-Narcotics Forces (ANF-Pakistan) and his Indian counterpart would be arranged to finalise measures to curb drug smuggling. As far as the visa regime between the two countries is concerned, the source said, Pakistan would suggest India to initiate a Group Tourist Visa, Business Visa for 90 days and On-Arrival Visa facility for 65 plus citizens of both the countries.
To a question, the source said Indian concern pertaining to Lashkar-e-Tayyaba would be allayed, adding that Pakistan had the desire to move forward in a positive direction. “The dialogue itself is a positive development. Both the countries are getting back to dialogue and we wish to continue with the same,” he said.
He said that it would be the first meeting followed by many more as Indian commerce secretary would be visiting Pakistan next month and talks between the foreign ministers of both the countries are also expected in June.
