— Photo: S. Subramanium

ON SCHEDULE: Pakistan Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri talks to the media after visiting victims of Sunday's blasts on the Samjhauta Express at the Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday .

NEW DELHI : Pakistan is awaiting a report from the Indian Government on the twin blasts that rocked the Delhi-Attari Express, killing 68 persons, mostly Pakistanis, its Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri said on arrival here on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the injured in the Safdarjung Hospital, Mr. Kasuri said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Shaukat Aziz, promised to share any information the Indian authorities got on Sunday's killings.

"And, it goes without saying that Pakistan is as interested as [are] the Indian authorities in getting to the bottom of this very unfortunate, criminal activity," Mr. Kasuri maintained.

Asked whether "Hindu" or "Muslim" extremists were behind the blasts, the Foreign Minister replied, "It's a very unfortunate way of looking at things. Whether it is a Hindu or a Muslim, how can I tell you?"

"Why should I pre-judge the investigations that the Government of India is undertaking? I have no reason to say whether it is a Hindu or a Muslim. I'm not going to even speculate," he said.

Mr. Kasuri, who is on a previously scheduled four-day visit for a meeting of the India-Pakistan Joint Commission, said he had come to New Delhi to "improve our relations, to carry the peace process forward."

"And, I'm looking forward to very useful interactions with my counterpart in India [Pranab Mukherjee]," he declared.

When the two Ministers meet at the joint commission on Wednesday, it will be their third meeting since November 2006.

What was to be a routine interaction between the two leaders, where an agreement on nuclear risk reduction measures would be signed, has now been transformed into a high-profile meeting after the blasts.

It is no longer India that will be asking questions of Pakistan on the issue of terrorism.

Pakistan, too, can legitimately ask India about the security measures taken for the safety of its nationals using trans-border means of transport.

Samjhauta Express blasts photos

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