Question : INDO-PAK TALKS

(a) whether he paid a visit to Pakistan in the month of July, 2010;

(b) if so, the details of the points raised by him with his Pakistani counterpart during the said visit and the reaction thereto;

(c) whether the talks between the two leaders were successful;

(d) if so, the extent to which the two countries had been able to build the confidence and if not, the reasons therefor;

(e) whether any future plan has been chalked out by the two countries for further talks/co-operation; and

(f) if so, the details thereof?

THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI S.M. KRISHNA)

(a) to (f) A statement is placed on the Table of the house.

STATEMENT REFFERED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (F) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.144 REGARDING `INDO- PAK TALKS` FOR ANSWER ON 04.08.2010

(a) Yes Sir.

(b) to (f) External Affairs Minister (EAM) met the Foreign Minister of Pakistan (PFM) on July 15, 2010 in Islamabad. The Ministers reviewed the current state of bilateral relations and discussed steps to promote trust and confidence. As part of a step-by-step, graduated and forward looking approach to expanding dialogue to cover all issues of mutual interest and concern, EAM conveyed our willingness to have further interaction on pressing humanitarian issues, particularly early release and repatriation of prisoners and fishermen in jails in both countries; promotion of trade and commerce; streamlining and strengthening cross-LOC Confidence Building Measures for the welfare of the people of Jammu and Kashmir; and greater people-to-people contacts/friendly exchanges.

EAM stated that the fulfilment, in letter and spirit, of the solemn commitment given by the leaders of Pakistan, at the highest level, of not allowing territory under Pakistan’s control to be used for any terrorist activity directed against India, would be the biggest confidence building measure. In addition, EAM mentioned that any further terrorist attack on India emanating from Pakistani soil would cause immense harm to the normalization process. EAM called for credible and firm action against terrorists groups and their leaders, like the Jamaat-ud-Daawa and Hafiz Saeed, who continue to incite violence against India.

PFM assured EAM that the Government of Pakistan will do everything in its power to fulfill the commitment given by Pakistan of not allowing its territory to be used for terrorism against India. In this context, PFM also assured that the investigation in the Mumbai terrorist attack case, taking into account the additional information obtained from the recent interrogation of David Coleman Headley and provided by Home Minister during his visit to Pakistan in June 2010, would be pursued rigorously to unravel the full conspiracy and bring all the perpetrators of that heinous crime to justice.

The detailed and frank discussions held during the visit enabled both the countries to develop a better understanding of each others’ position and point of view on various issues. Despite differences of opinion on the way forward on a few issues, there was a broad understanding on a number of other issues. PFM accepted EAM’s invitation to visit Delhi at a suitable date to be decided through diplomatic channels.