PM, Obama talk post-Osama situation

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke with US President Barack Obama on Monday, discussing the situation in the Indian subcontinent following Osama bin Laden's killing in Pakistan.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke with US President Barack Obama on Monday, discussing the situation in the Indian subcontinent following Osama bin Laden's killing in Pakistan.

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"It was a warm conversation, which covered wide range of subjects. They discussed further growth and development of India-US relations and the situation in the region," the spokesperson at the Prime Minister's Office said.

India is closely watching the repercussions of Bin Laden's death on the region, especially the endgame in Afghanistan, where Obama is fighting the inherited war on terrorism.

Singh is due to visit Kabul soon.

This is the first conversation between the two leaders since Bin Laden's death. Singh had termed his killing as a significant step forward and had asked the international community and Pakistan in particular to work comprehensively to end the activities of all terror groups.

The Prime Minister had hoped that Bin Laden's killing would deal a "decisive blow" to al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. The telephone call came on a day when the US President raised questions about the possibility that "some people inside the government" in Pakistan may have been involved in providing support structure for the slain terrorist.

New Delhi has maintained that the US operation against Bin Laden raises the question of the sanctuary enjoyed by terrorists in that country. "Our relationship with Pakistan has been complicated by the issue of terrorism and the need for Pakistan to take ameliorative action to eradicate terrorism against India..., foreign secretray Nirupama Rao said in her address in Paris on May 5.