Pak action on 26/11 has not moved an inch: Pillai

Ahead of the India Pakistan foreign-secretary-level talks to be held in Thimpu next month, New Delhi reiterated its stance on Pakistan not doing enough to punish perpetrators of the 26/11 attacks.

Ahead of the India Pakistan foreign-secretary-level talks to be held in Thimpu next month, New Delhi reiterated its stance on Pakistan not doing enough to punish perpetrators of the 26/11 attacks.

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Home secretary GK Pillai said on Saturday that the attempt to bring the guilty to book had “not moved an inch” in Pakistan. He was referring to India’s request to Pakistan to provide voice samples of the handlers who orchestrated the Mumbai attacks on telephone.

In the backdrop of Pakistan’s interior minister Rehman Malik telling home minister P Chidambaram he would “not be disappointed” when the latter asked for action against the attackers, Pillai said, “Seven months down the line, there is no response. We are disappointed.”

“That is not a real investigation… From the steps so far taken by Pakistan, we would say we are quite pessimistic...” Pillai said.

Pillai’s remarks assume significance as India’s foreign secretary Nirupama Rao is slated to meet her Pakistan counterpart Salman Bashir in a separate meeting on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit Standing Committee meeting in Bhutan on February 6 and February 7 to take take forward the stalled peace process between India and Pakistan.

The meeting between the two foreign secretaries is expected to set the agenda for a meeting at the foreign-minister level.

With Pakistan all set to step up its demand that India share the details of the Samjhauta Express blast probe, Pillai said India would share information on the case with Pakistan once the probe is over. The home secretary hoped Islamabad would learn from New Delhi’s “fair” handling of the Samjhauta case and punish those involved in the 26/11 attacks.