Hours before a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, Union home minister P Chidambaram on Friday said he would ask Islamabad to expeditiously bring to justice all those behind the Mumbai attacks, including Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and the handlers of the gunmen.
Speaking to reporters accompanying him to the Saarc Home Ministers? Conference in Islamabad, Chidambaram said: ?I will use the opportunity to bring home to Pakistan the gravity of issues and the need for response that is appropriate to the gravity of the situation. It has been 18 months since I took over. The time has come to address these issues with seriousness that they warrant. That is what I am going to tell them politely.?
Asked whether he would raise the issue of Hafiz Saeed with counterpart Rehman Malik, Chidambaram said: ?Hafiz Saeed is one among them. There are controllers, there are handlers, so we need to know what action they will take against them. These matters cannot be ignored forever. Somebody has to address these issues sometime or the other.?
He said he would also take up other issues like infiltration on the border of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistanis who have infiltrated and are indulging in militant activities.
On whether he would seek voice samples of the 26/11 handlers, he said: ?Surely they (Pakistan) can give us voice samples of handlers. Now, it is universally acknowledged that the handlers were in Pakistan. We think we know who the handlers were. We have recordings on our side.?
Asked whether Pakistan had declined to give voice samples at any point of time, he said one of the dossiers given by Pakistan said a couple of people had declined to give their voice samples. ?I suggested one time that don?t give it to us. Give it to a third country so that it is subjected to forensic analysis in a third country.?
On whether Pakistani Army personnel were among the 26/11 handlers, he said: ?If you are quoting from the dossier (that India gave to Pakistan) you are quoting correctly. But I do not know whether they are real names or assumed names.? Asked whether the handlers included two Pakistani Army Majors, Chidambaram said: ?That is what the dossier said.?
In Islamabad, Rehman Malik said he would ?satisfy? Chidambaram. ?Hafiz Saeed is an issue. And we will also satisfy Mr Chidambaram on that. We have no problem in that,? Malik said. ?Instead of exchanging dossiers?, he said the two countries should ?exchange hearts?.