India going for talks with Pak Foreign Secy with open mind:Rao

Ajay Kaul
Thimphu, Feb 6 (PTI) Setting a positive tone ahead of
their meeting here, Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and
her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir Sunday said they would
endeavour to find a way forward for continued engagement
between the two countries.
"We are resuming our contact after interregnum of some
time. We have a number of issues to be discussed. As we have
always said that dialogue between India and Pakistan is
necessary and a must if we are to satisfactorily resolve the
outstanding issues between our two countries," she said.
"We have a number of outstanding issues. So, we are going
into this with an open mind and constructive attitude," Rao
said.
Noting that her Pakistani counterpart would also have a
"number of ideas" to discuss, Rao said, "so, this is going to
be exploratory discussion and we hope that through this
process, we can find a way forward."
Bashir separately said he was looking forward to his
meeting with Rao. "My expectations are that we should be
working towards continued engagement," he said.
He said the two Foreign Secretaries would be preparing
for engagement between their Foreign Ministers.
Rao and Bashir, who are here to attend the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation Foreign Secretaries'
meeting, will hold talks on its sidelines later Sunday.
When asked about the provocative statement given by
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit questioning the
pace of probe into Samjhauta Express blast, Rao said India has
already made it clear that probe details would be shared with
Pakistan if there is anything to share.
"We have already said an investigation is going on in
Samjhauta blast. It was an act of terrorism, there is no doubt
about it," she said about the February 2007 incident in which
68 passengers, including Pakistanis, were killed when an
explosion took place at the north Indian city of Panipat in
Haryana state when the cross-border train was on its way to
Pakistan.
To a question, she emphasised that India will share with
Pakistan if there is any evidence to share and when "we are
ready to share evidence."
Bashir refused to comment when asked about the Samjhauta
issue in the backdrop of the statement issued by the Pakistan
Foreign Office spokesman. "Why do you want to pick up one
issue? There are a plenty of issues," he responded.
India has already rubbished Basit's contention that the
pace of investigation into Samjhauta Express blast was slow
and said the case could not be compared to Mumbai attacks in
terms of gravity and evidence available.
New Delhi points out that in the Mumbai attack case, the
leads were very clear despite which Pakistan has failed to act
satisfactorily.