Islamabad, July 15 (IANS) Describing his talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi as ‘good and constructive,’ Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said Thursday Pakistan has promised speedy trial of the 26/11 Mumbai attack accused and had given a fresh assurance not to allow this country’s territory to be used for terror against India.
‘The bottomline is that the discussions were good and constructive,’ Krishna said at a joint press conference after his wide-ranging talks with Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Krishna said that during the talks, he reminded his Pakistani interlocutors to fulfill the pledge that Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had given to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Bhutan over two months ago not to allow Pakistani territory to be used for terror activities directed against India.
‘It would go a long way in building trust,’ Krishna said.
‘They have assured us that steps have been taken to speed up the trial of the accused involved in the Mumbai attacks,’ Krishna said.
Qureshi, on his part, pitched for ‘a meaningful, result-oriented dialogue,’ and urged India to recognise terrorism as a common challenge that required a common approach.
‘The best way to deal with this (terrorism) is to recognise it as a common enemy and adopt a common approach,’ Qureshi said.
Qureshi said all issues were discussed with Krishna, including terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, confidence-building measures and disputes over Siachen and Sir Creek.
‘We had an extended meeting, looking at various options that will build and restore trust,’ Qureshi said.
He said: ‘We had frank, candid and honest discussions on where we stand, how we look at our bilateral ties and how to move forward.’
He also apologised for the delay in holding the press conference.
‘Let me apologise for the delay. Our talks took much longer than anticipated. After all, we were meeting after a long time and there was much to discuss,’ Qureshi said.
