The Hindu : Front Page : `Help track down Samjhauta suspect'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 07, 2007
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`Help track down Samjhauta suspect'

Nirupama Subramanian

India hands over photograph to Pakistan

TACKLING TERROR: Additional Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry K.C. Singh (right) with his Pakistani counterpart Tariq Osman Haider prior to their talks in Islamabad. — Photo: AP

ISLAMABAD: India has asked Pakistan for help to track down a suspect in the Samjhauta train bombing, allegedly a Pakistani national whose photograph was handed over on the first day of the joint anti-terror mechanism meeting here.

According to officials associated with Tuesday's proceedings of the two-day meeting, Pakistan gave "solid" evidence "with photographs" of the alleged "interference" by Indian consulates on the Afghan border inside Pakistan, and of alleged Indian involvement in incidents in Balochistan.

The view on the Pakistani side was that incidents in Balochistan should "come down" if India were "sincere."

There was disappointment that India shared no information about the Samjhauta blast except providing the a photograph of a "Pakistani who disappeared in 2006."

Aside from the Samjhauta incident, India has asked Pakistan for help in identifying a person who died in one of the trains bombed in the July 2006 Mumbai attack.

The Indian side gave Pakistani officials a photograph of the severed head of this person who, investigators suspect, might have been involved in the attack.

Pakistan believes the severed head indicates a suicide attack while earlier leads pointed to remote-controlled explosions, and that this points to a contradiction in the investigations.

The Indian delegation, led by K.C. Singh, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, also shared more evidence with Pakistan of the Deepavali bomb attack in New Delhi, and other terrorist attacks in Ayodhya, Varanasi and Hyderabad, in which Indian investigators suspect the hand of Pakistan-based groups.

India already shared some evidence of these incidents with Pakistan during the November 2006 Foreign Secretaries' meeting.

On Tuesday, the Indian side provided more details at the request of Pakistan, officials said.

India added six names to the "most wanted" list of persons allegedly taking shelter in Pakistan. At least one of these is a suspect in the 2003 murder of Gujarat Minister Haren Pandya, while another is wanted in connection with the Mulund (Mumbai) train blasts. Discussions will continue on Wednesday.

Both delegations will also call on Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammed Khan. The Pakistan delegation is led by Additional Foreign Secretary Tariq Usman Haider.

Aside from the exchange of evidence and information, it appears the two sides are also trying to define the scope of the joint mechanism and chart a direction for it so that it could become a "meaningful" forum of co-operation.

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