The Hindu : Front Page : India serves demarche on Pakistan

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Tuesday, Dec 02, 2008
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India serves demarche on Pakistan

Special Correspondent

Asks it to take strong action

NEW DELHI: The High Commissioner of Pakistan Shahid Malik was called to the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday evening and served a demarche which asked Islamabad to take “strong action” against those responsible for last week’s Mumbai terror strikes.

Mr. Malik was informed that the Mumbai attacks were carried out by elements in Pakistan and told that Islamabad’s actions “needed to match the sentiments expressed by its leadership that it wishes to have a qualitatively new relationship with India,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vishnu Prakash.

The decision to summon Mr. Malik was taken at the all-party meeting convened by the Prime Minister on Sunday and the sentiments expressed in the demarche are more or less on the lines of the observations made last week by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Despite the chill in Indo-Pakistan ties, sources here doused speculation of a troop build-up on the western borders. They also maintained that no decision had been taken so far on cancelling the Indian team’s cricket tour to Pakistan.

“Mumbai was a serious development. The response has to be measured and calibrated and in keeping with the status of India as a responsible power,” they said. “We have decided that we will collate all the information, piece together the picture and then act,” the sources added, while pointing out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had not named Pakistan for the attacks while Mr. Mukherjee had said “certain elements” in Pakistan appeared to have backed the terror strikes.

There was no move to send more troops to the borders with Pakistan, they said. The troop activity on the western borders was normal for this time of the year in the form of small exercises and unit rotations.

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