Onus on Pak to unveil 26/11 conspiracy, says Krishna

New Delhi, Sep.10 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna on Thursday put the onus of unveiling the conspiracy behind the Mumbai attacks on Pakistan.

While confirming that the foreign secretaries of the two countries - Nirupama Rao and Salman Bashir - would be meeting in New York on the sidelines of the 64th session of the UN General Assembly, Krishna ruled out having any meaningful dialogue with Islamabad till it took concrete steps to nail those responsible for last year's terror strike.

Krishna also said that he would be meeting his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in New York.

He said Rao and Bashir would discuss the progress made on the investigation of the 26/11 attacks and prosecution of those arrested in connection with it.

"It is in our vital interest to normalize our relations with Pakistan. However, we are at a stage where it is for Pakistan to determine the kind of relationship that it wants to have with India," Krishna told the Editors Guild in New Delhi.

"Clearly, the onus is on Pakistan to unveil the conspiracy," he said, adding India had sought to "assist" them in that task by providing vital evidence.

He said Pakistan is safeguarding terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed and that the Indian Government was in no doubt that he was the brain behind the Mumbai terror attack.

Krishna underlined that terrorism would remain his focus when he meets Qureshi.

New Delhi maintains that it has given enough evidence to Islamabad for it to prosecute the 26/11 accused.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who is currently in the United States briefing the Obama administration about the steps New Delhi has taken so far vis-'-vis the 26/11 probe, has categorically stated that the Pakistan Government is holding up the trial of Saeed and other state actors. (ANI)