PM asks Saudi to persuade Pakistan to desist from terror path

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said he had asked Saudi Arabia to use its "good offices" to persuade Pakistan to desist from the path of terror.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said he had asked Saudi Arabia to use its "good offices" to persuade Pakistan to desist from the path of terror.

HT Image

Singh was asked by reporters on his way back home from Riyadh whether India would like to see Saudi Arabia as a credible interlocutor in dealing with some Indo-Pak issues, an apparent reference to remarks made by Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor that created a flutter.

"I know Saudi Arabia has close relations with Pakistan," Singh said, noting that he had discussed Indo-Pak relations with King Abdullah on a one-to-one basis and explained to him the role that terrorism aided, abetted and inspired by Pakistan is playing in India.

"I did not ask him to do anything other than to use his good offices to persuade Pakistan to desist from this path," he said.