Pakistan’s response to India’s “wish list” with regard to those behind 2008 Mumbai terror attacks is “critical” to “substantive movement” in the bilateral dialogue, Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said on Sunday. “What Islamabad has done so far about it is not to our satisfaction,” he said while taking stock of the Indo-Pak ties in the year gone by. Khurshid did not see controversial statements by Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik while in India recently as a “setback” in the dialogue process. What was said or what gesture was made was not “critical”, he said. “I don’t see it as a setback at all. But I do believe and what we all believe in this country is that dialogue will move smoothly, faster and in a right direction provided the wish list lying with Pakistan given by India as far as Mumbai tragedy is concerned is responded to. That is a critical thing, not what is said, not what gesture is made.” “Ultimately it is the delivery of the fundamental aspects that are required to be fulfilled. Unless that is done, we will not have substantive movement. And it has not been done to satisfaction,” the minister said. Asked about the delay in Pakistan granting the most-favoured nation (MFN) status to India, Khurshid said India would do whatever needs to be done to persuade them to move on this. “We believe that it should have been done. We will do whatever needs to be done to persuade them that we should now be able to do it. It is not something which should be delayed indefinitely. It is not something we should just forget that it happened,” Khurshid said.
Islamabad’s response to Mumbai wish list critical for relations, says Salman Khurshid
