Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has conveyed to President Asif Ali Zardari that India’s concerns on terrorism have to be addressed and anti-India activities have to be stopped there if the people of India are to support and sustain progress in relations with Islamabad.
During Zardari’s visit to India on April 8, Singh and Zardari had discussed the issue of terrorism and the Indian prime minister told Zardari that there was a need for taking action to curb terrorism to enable New Delhi to make forward movement in the bilateral relationship, Minister of State for Home Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. “He (Singh) conveyed that it was imperative to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack to justice and prevent activities aimed against India from Pakistani soil,” the minister said. In this context, Singh also mentioned that the activities of LT founder Hafiz Saeed in public (in Pakistan) and said “our concerns on terrorism had to be addressed if the people of India are to be support and sustain progress in bilateral relations”. The president had referred to the judicial process against Saeed and said the matter needed to be discussed further between the two governments, the minister said in a written reply. Zardari was in India on April 8 on a “private visit” during which the prime minister had hosted a lunch for him. He had later visited the Dargah of Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer.