Minister of External Affairs SM Krishna
New Delhi
18 September 2009
perpetrators of the 26 November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai and unearth the wider
conspiracy behind it, but 10 months on, terrorist ideologues continued to enjoy a wide
licence in Pakistan, Minister of External Affairs SM Krishna said.
"The fact is that there is an infrastructure of terrorism and a wide licence which terrorist
ideologues continue to enjoy," he said in an exclusive interview to this newspaper,
ahead of his meeting next week with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi
on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Mr Krishna said India expected Pakistan to do everything in its power to bring the 26/11
perpetrators to justice, and sought to suggest that tokenism such as filing of two cases
against Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, none of which accused him of involvement in
the 26/11 attack, would rob the bilateral relationship of its confidence.
"A mutually beneficial relationship can be built only on the basis of confidence that steps
are being taken to address this issue and act against the elements responsible," he
said, adding that he would want to hear from his Pakistani counterpart about the
progress made in the 26/11 investigation.
Mr Krishna hoped to follow-up on his Cabinet colleague, Minister of Home Affairs P
Chidambaram's recent visit to the United States and discuss Pakistan's handling of the
26/11 investigation with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He would call for vigilance
and monitoring of the US aid to Pakistan, which is used against India.
His remarks came on the day when US Ambassador to India Tim Roemer said it was
important that Pakistan should slap "swift and lengthy" punishment on Hafiz Saeed.
"Going after [him] and dismantling terror infrastructure [is] extremely important[,]" he
said after calling on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mr Chidambaram here.
Dwelling on Sino-Indian relations, Mr Krishna said in the interview that there were no
restrictions on the travels of the Dalai Lama in Indian territory, and iterated that the
Tibetan spiritual leader was free to visit Arunachal Pradesh. The Dalai Lama plans to
visit the state in November.
The minister said that the instances of Chinese transgressions at the Sino-Indian border
were taken up regularly in appropriate forums with the Chinese side and the issue was
likely to come up again for discussion in his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang
Jiechi next month.
Mr Krishna asserted that India's "restraint on [nuclear] testing is unparalleled" and the
voluntary moratorium on explosive testing remained in place. India, he added, was
interested in cooperation with Iran in the oil and gas sector, and talks on the IPI (Iran -
Pakistan - India) gas pipeline project would continue.
MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS SM KRISHNA will meet his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi in New York next week to explore the possibility of carrying forward the dialogue started by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in June this year, and which was continued a month later when the Prime Minister met his Pakistani counterpart Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt. In an exclusive interview to this newspaper ahead of his travel to the United States, Mr Krishna said India expected Pakistan to act with purpose against the perpetrators of the 26 November 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai and unearth the wider conspiracy which motivated, planned and launched the attack. "The fact is that there is an infrastructure of terrorism and a wide licence which terrorist ideologues continue to enjoy," he told RAMESH RAMACHANDRAN. While in the US, Mr Krishna will also hold a bilateral meeting with United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in which he would call for more vigilance and monitoring of the US aid to Pakistan. The minister iterated that there were no restrictions on the travels of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in Indian territory, and the issue of Chinese transgressions at the Sino-Indian border was expected to come up for discussion in his talks with the Chinese foreign minister next month. India, he added, was interested in cooperation with Iran in the oil and gas sector, and talks on the IPI (Iran - Pakistan - India) gas pipeline project would continue. Excerpts:Is the situation obtaining today conducive for engaging with Pakistan at the foreign
minister-level and what are your expectations from your meeting with your Pakistani
counterpart in the United States next week ?
As decided in the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani Prime
Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at Sharm-el-Sheikh, the two foreign ministers would be
meeting on the sidelines of the forthcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The date and time of the meeting would be worked out through diplomatic channels. In
this meeting we expect to hear from Pakistan on the progress made on the assurance
given by Pakistan in the Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting that it will do everything in its power to
bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack to justice.
Will a joint press statement be issued towards the end of your talks with the Pakistani
foreign Minister ?
It is premature to speculate right now. I look forward to a cordial and constructive
discussion.
What is the least Pakistan should be doing post-26/11 to reinstill confidence in the
people and government of India ?
We expect Pakistan to act with purpose against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack as
also unearth the wider conspiracy which motivated, planned and launched the attack.
The fact is that there is an infrastructure of terrorism and a wide licence which terrorist
ideologues continue to enjoy. A mutually beneficial relationship can be built only on the
basis of confidence that steps are being taken to address this issue and act against the
elements responsible.
According to Pakistani media reports, the Pakistani Government intends to raise the
issue of Jammu and Kashmir in the United Nations General Assembly. Will such an
action be compatible with India's goals of seeking a meaningful resolution of all bilateral
issues ?
As per the Simla Agreement of 1972 both India and Pakistan have agreed that the issue
of Jammu and Kashmir would be discussed bilaterally. Since then India has been
making sincere efforts to resolve the issue. In the same spirit, we continue to discuss
with Pakistan. Pakistan has also agreed that all the outstanding issues between India
and Pakistan should be resolved bilaterally. Any deviations undermine the goal of
meaningful resolution of bilateral issues.
Is India willing to respond to or accommodate the Pakistani request for a meeting
between the intelligence chiefs of India and Pakistan ?
In the aftermath of the terrorist attack on Mumbai Pakistan initially offered to send its
intelligence chief and later resiled from this offer. I am not aware of other requests.
What will be the agenda of your talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton?
I would be meeting the US Secretary of State, Ms Hillary Clinton, on 25 September on the
margins of UNGA in New York. It would be an occasion to review all bilateral issues, we
would also review the progress made in the India-US bilateral dialogue since the new
agenda for bilateral engagement was announced on 20 July 2009 by Secretary Clinton
and me in New Delhi. Initiatives taken in areas of bilateral engagement such as trade
and investment, defence and security, science and technology, energy and environment,
education, health, people-to-people contact and issues of global concern to both
countries would be discussed. We will also discuss follow up on the recent visit of
Minister of Home Affairs P Chidambaram to the US, the negotiations on a bilateral
investment treaty held in August 2009 and the informal ministerial level meeting of the
Doha Round held in New Delhi on September 3-4, 2009. I also hope to discuss some of
the important developments in our region. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be
visiting the US on 24 November. We would look at how to make the event an important
milestone in raising our partnership to a higher level of bilateral and global engagement.
Will you raise the issue of Pakistan using US aid against India, in your talks with the US
Secretary of State, and what are your expectations from the US Government on this count?
its military build up against India. In our view there is a need for vigilance as also close
monitoring of such assistance being provided.
Are there other bilateral meetings planned during your visit to the US ?
My visit to New York is primarily to represent India at the General Debate of the new
UNGA session. I will also represent the Prime Minister at the high-level event on climate
change being held on 22 September. Besides addressing the General Debate, I would
attend a number of summits and high-level meetings that are traditionally held on the
sidelines of UNGA session. I will also meet my counterparts during the meetings of
SAARC, G-77, Commonwealth, IBSA, BRIC, G-5, and our dialogue with the GCC. Time
permitting, I am also planning to meet my counterparts from other countries.
The foreign ministers from many countries will meet in New York on 24-25 September to
promote the entry into force of the CTBT (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty). For the first
time since 1999 the US will participate in the conference. Also, US President Barack
Obama has convened a meeting of the UN Security Council on 24 September to focus on
nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including CTBT. It will be the first time since
1992 that such a meeting of the UN Security Council takes place. What is India's position
on CTBT and nuclear disarmament ?
India's longstanding commitment to global nuclear disarmament is well known. We have
consistently stood for the complete elimination of all weapons of mass destruction. In
recent years we have actively and constructively engaged with key countries on issues
related to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. We believe that the UN Security
Council should act in a manner consistent with the principles of the UN Charter and the
provisions of the various international treaties. As far as the CTBT is concerned, India
was one of the earliest proponents of a comprehensive ban on nuclear testing. Our
restraint on testing is unparalleled and we continue to maintain a voluntary, unilateral
moratorium on nuclear explosive testing.
What is the status of India's participation in the IPI (Iran-Pakistan-India) gas pipeline
project ?
In view of our rapidly growing economy and expanding energy needs, India is interested
in cooperation with Iran in the oil and gas sector. Issues of the pricing formula, transit
fee, security and financial guarantees have been areas of discussion with respect to the
pipeline. Bilateral cooperation in this sector and on the pipeline will be further discussed
in the Joint Working Group on Oil and Gas likely to be convened this year.
What is the status of negotiations on the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan- India)
gas pipeline project ?
India has growing energy requirements and we are interested in diversifying our energy
sources. We are member of the TAPI gas pipeline project. The steering committee met
last year and India was represented. Security as well as technical issues have been the
subject of discussion, but we hope that those will be satisfactorily resolved.
Would you characterise the Chinese transgressions at the Sino-Indian border as
deliberate acts of provocation ?
We have agreed to find a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable peaceful solution to
the India-China boundary question through negotiations. Pending a final settlement, both
sides have agreed at the highest levels to maintain peace and tranquility in the border
areas. Since we do not have an agreed Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and
China, there have been instances of transgression, which we take up regularly with the
Chinese side. We have jointly evolved mechanisms and specific modalities to handle
such incidents in a peaceful and non-confrontational way.
Bengaluru will host trilateral meeting of the RIC (Russia-India-China) foreign ministers on
October 20. Will you use the occasion to convey India's sentiments and concerns to
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi ?
We are looking forward to welcoming foreign ministers from Russia and China in the
trilateral foreign ministers' meeting in Bengaluru. We have in the past utilised such
events to also review progress in bilateral relations with important partners and
exchange views with them on issues of mutual interest. We hope to continue the
practice.
The Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama plans to visit Arunachal Pradesh in
November. How do you view his visit to the state and China's opposition to it ?
I have seen the related reports. There are no restrictions on the travels of the Dalai
Lama in Indian territory. Our policy on Tibet is clear and consistent. We regard Tibet
Autonomous Region as part of the territory of the People's Republic of China. We do not
allow the Tibetan community to conduct anti-China political activities in India.
You told Parliament that you intended to visit Arunachal Pradesh shortly. When do you
plan to visit Arunachal Pradesh ?
I will visit Arunachal Pradesh as soon as a suitable occasion arises.
Do you believe the current discourse on India-China relations will allow the President of
India to visit China ?
The visit of President of India to China was agreed upon and announced during Prime
Minister's visit to China in January 2008. The two sides are currently working to find
mutually convenient dates for the visit.
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