NEW DELHI – Pakistan and India have agreed to set up a “hotline” to share information about terror threats, a joint statement said on Tuesday after talks between their home secretaries in New Delhi.
“Both sides agreed to set up a hotline between the home secretary of India and the interior secretary of Pakistan to facilitate real-time information sharing with respect to terrorist threats,” said the statement.
“Both sides reiterated their commitment to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reaffirm the need to bring those responsible for such crimes to justice,” it added.
India broke off ties with Islamabad in the wake of the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which were blamed on members from the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) network who travelled from Pakistan.
In 2001, another attack on the Indian parliament in New Delhi brought the two countries to the brink of another war. They have fought three since independence in 1947.
Last month, the two countries announced they would resume a formal peace dialogue with a view to resolving their issues, including the vexed subject of Kashmir, which is divided between them.
The two days of talks between Indian home secretary G.K. Pillai, the highest official in the home ministry, and his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhary Qamar Zaman were the first step in this process.
The joint statement said that Zaman had also agreed “in principle” to India’s request to send a commission to Pakistan to investigate the Mumbai attacks.
“Modalities and composition in this connection will be worked out through diplomatic channels,” the statement said.
Pakistan also provided updates on the ongoing trials and investigation into the Mumbai attacks, it added.
India has been pressing its neighbour to prosecute the alleged masterminds in Pakistan of the attacks and has provided several dossiers of evidence recorded by Indian police and intelligence agencies.
Pakistan has charged seven people but none has been convicted.
