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No dilution of position, says Pranab

Siddharth Varadarajan and Sandeep Dikshit

“Perpetrators of Mumbai attack must face Indian justice”

New Delhi: A day after saying the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack could be tried in Pakistan provided this was done in a transparent manner, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee changed tack to stress there was “no question” of India giving up its demand that they be handed over to face justice here.

With the Opposition parties accusing the government of contradicting itself after insisting that the Mumbai plotters must all be extradited, Mr. Mukherjee met briefly with television reporters on Friday in an attempt to set the record straight.

‘No climbdown’

Asked to clarify his comment to “Aaj Tak” channel that while the government would like the attackers of Mumbai to be extradited to India, they should be tried in Pakistan if for some reason that were not possible, Mr. Mukherjee said: “We have never given up the demand that the perpetrators of terror acts should be extradited to India. There is no question of that or [a] climbdown.”

In his interview to “Aaj Tak” on Wednesday, Mr. Mukherjee said “they should try the perpetrators of Mumbai” when asked what he wanted from Pakistan. “The trial should be transparent. We have caught Ajmal Kasab. But there were others who were a part of the conspiracy. They should be caught and tried there.”

‘No either or situation’

Mr. Mukherjee repeated this demand for a Pakistani trial in his statement on Friday, but insisted that the Mumbai perpetrators “must face Indian justice” as the terror crimes were committed in India. “This is not an either or situation as these things are not mutually exclusive,” he said, adding that “the position is quite clear and there is no question of dilution in position.”

He said major terror acts have been committed in India. “These were planned and launched from Pakistan. Only full investigations, which are transparent and verifiable in Pakistan, can unveil the full conspiracy Pakistan is obliged to investigate and prosecute the criminals.” It was up to Islamabad to ensure that individuals based in Pakistan did not commit criminal acts elsewhere “and then have effective immunity simply because they are Pakistani nationals.”

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