India will resume talks with Pakistan if Islamabad chooses to act against the perpetrators of the Mumbai outrage, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here on Tuesday night. ?Bringing the horrible perpetrators of Mumbai attack?that is the minimum we expect from Pakistan,? Singh said.
Speaking at the end of his three-day visit to Washington to attend the nuclear security summit, Singh would not confirm the possibility of a meeting with Pakistan?s Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on the margins of a South Asia summit later this month in Bhutan. ?We will cross that bridge when we come to it,? he said. While keeping the door ajar for such a meeting, the PM is mobilising what pressure he can to get Islamabad act against the plotters of the Mumbai attack.
When asked what specific steps he wants Islamabad to take on the Mumbai case beyond the arrests it has already made, the PM expanded on his conditions for the resumption of a dialogue with Pakistan. ?There are many other conspirators who are roaming about? in Pakistan, the PM said in a reference to the Let and its head, Hafeez Mohammed Sayeed.
The PM reacted sharply when asked about Gilani?s demands for more evidence from India about the LeT?s terror activity. ?I don?t see any need for further evidence on LeT.? ?I would hate to enter an argument with Gilani in a press conference, but American agencies have pointed to the role of LeT and its links with al-Qaeda.?
On his interaction with Gilani at the nuclear security summit, Singh?s said he ran into the Pak premier twice and had ?exchanged pleasantries?. Singh said he had ?complimented him on the passage of constitutional amendment which makes him the most powerful personality in Pakistan.?
Asked about a potential US role in reducing the current tensions in the subcontinent, Singh ruled out a role for third parties and insisted that India and Pakistan can and will resolve the issues bilaterally.
The PM also dismissed the speculation that India?s relations with the US are drifting under President Barack Obama. ?In matters relating to statecraft, one shouldn?t jump to conclusions which are not warranted by facts,? Singh said.
Underlining the ?multi-faceted relationship? with the US, Singh said he was looking forward to welcoming Obama in India later this year.
On the results from the nuclear summit, Singh said he ?feels a sense of vindication?. ?The concerns that we have been expressing for decades on the dangers of proliferation and risk of nuclear materials finding their way into the wrong hands are today finding widespread acceptance,? he said.