India to push US on 26/11 case

Following Osama bin Laden's death, India is gearing to put more pressure on US to get Islamabad to act on bringing 26/11 Mumbai attack case to a closure.

Following Osama bin Laden's death, India is gearing to put more pressure on US to get Islamabad to act on bringing 26/11 Mumbai attack case to a closure.

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In a series of meetings with Washington, culminating in the strategic dialogue between secretary of state Hilary Clinton and external affairs minister SM Krishna on July 15 and 16, India will take up this issue, government sources said.

The key India-US meetings include, FBI director Robert Muller's visit, homeland security dialogue between home minister P Chidambaram and US homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano in June.

US deputy secretary of state William Burns is also expected to be in India soon. Muller's visit, sources said, could be delayed and 'scheduling process' is still on.

Though these meetings were in the works for sometime, New Delhi sees this as an opportunity to push its case with renewed vigour.

"The killing of Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan vindicates what we have been saying, that Pakistan is a sanctuary for terrorists of different hues and shades," points out an official.

Maintaining that India believes that the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attack, including the controllers and handlers of the terrorists who actually carried out the strike, continue to be sheltered in that country, Chidambaram has already called up Pakistan and asked it to arrest the persons whose names have been handed over as well as provide voice samples of certain persons who are suspected to be among the controllers and handlers of the terrorists.

According to India, the terror sanctuaries in Pakistan also pose threat to normalisation of Afghanistan as well as the global fight against terrorism.

"The US now understands that an organisation like LeT, which was India centric has grown in its reach…," explained a US official.