India contests Pak’s claim on Mumbai attack trial

India on Friday contested Pakistan’s claim, which has asked for additional evidence for the early completion of the Mumbai attack trial, saying it has not received any “fresh” communication from Islamabad.

However, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said there could be further communication between the two sides in coming days, asserting that India was committed to providing all cooperation to Pakistan in expediting the trial and bringing all perpetrators to justice.

“Our position is very clear. We remain committed to providing all cooperation to Pakistan in terms of expediting the Mumbai attack trial and bringing all perpetrators to justice. The Pakistan Foreign Affairs spokesperson has claimed that their Foreign Secretary has written to our Foreign Secretary,” he said.

He added: “No fresh letter has been received in this regard. What he has been referring to is a letter written in September last year. Our Foreign Secretary had replied to that letter. We keep hearing in media about the list of 24 witnesses, who are required by Pakistan to progress the Mumbai case trial.”

“But so far we have not received any communication from Pakistan conveying the details of these 24 people. Because of our commitment to cooperate with Pakistan in bringing the Mumbai case trial to a speedy conclusion, you can expect further communications between the two sides in the coming days,” Swarup said.

His remarks came a day after Pakistan asked India to provide “additional evidence” for the early completion of the Mumbai attack trial, in which Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operations commander Zaki-ur 

Rehman Lakhvi and six others are accused.

Asked about the comments made by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz that India was “shying away” from talks, Swarup asserted that India had never ever shied away from engagement with Pakistan and was prepared to discuss all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an atmosphere free from terror and violence.

He added in fact it is India, which has repeatedly taken initiatives to engage with Pakistan – be it Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invite to his Pakistani counterpart to attend the oath-taking ceremony or External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who travelled to Pakistan in December 2015 and held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Heart of Asia Conference, which led to the decision of starting a Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue. Besides, PM Modi too visited Lahore last December to wish Sharif on his birthday, he said.

Swarup said Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar was also prepared to go to Pakistan to discuss the modalities of the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue in January this year, but then Pathankot terror strike happened.

“I am sure, you will recall what External Affairs Minister had said in her press conference on June 19 that after an incident like Pathankot it is a natural and legitimate expectation of the government and the country that there should be concrete action from the Pakistani side, which has not denied the involvement of its nationals in the Pathankot attack,” the MEA spokesperson said.

“Therefore, as the minister said we are awaiting a concrete investigation to take place at the Pakistani end,” he added. On the status of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Navy officer in Pakistan custody, Swarup said India has repeatedly sought consular access to him. 

“Pakistan has a particular narrative regarding him. We believe the circumstances under which he was abducted in Iran remain very unclear. Those circumstances can be made clear once we have access to him. Pakistan by not giving access to him is in a way showing there is something to hide. So I think full clarity will come once we have accessibility to Jadhav,” he added.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to travel to Pakistan in August to attend the SAARC Home Interior/Home Ministers’ conference. Asked if he would travel to Pakistan to attend the SAARC Interior/Home Minister’s conference, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the issue was “under consideration”. 

However, a confirmation would come from the Ministry of Home Affairs, he said. During the visit, apart from attending the SAARC meet, Singh is likely to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other SAARC member countries, including Pakistan’s Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. He will be accompanied by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and other senior officers of the Home Ministry. 

Key issues such as fight against terrorism, trafficking in drugs, psychotropic substances and arms and how to make coordinated and concerted efforts to combat such menace will figure in the meeting. The three-tier meeting will begin at the joint secretary-level and then move on to Secretary and Home Minister-level meetings.  The meeting will also focus on strengthening networking among police authorities of SAARC member countries.