The Hindu : Front Page : Pakistan must cooperate fully with Mumbai probe, says France

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 18, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Pakistan must cooperate fully with Mumbai probe, says France

Siddharth Varadarajan

‘It is not for us to say whether suspects should be extradited or not’

“What we want from Pakistan is full cooperation”
Says India’s dossier is totally credible

New Delhi: Declaring itself in “total solidarity” with India over the November 26-29 Mumbai terrorist attacks, France has called on Pakistan to cooperate fully with the Indian side to ensure those responsible for the crime are punished.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday at the end of his visit for the 20th Indo-French Strategic Dialogue, Jean-David Levitte, Diplomatic Adviser of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said that Paris had heard President Asif Ali Zardari’s words promising cooperation with India.

But it was now up to “all agencies of the Pakistani state” to implement those commitments, he stressed.

Asked whether he agreed with the Indian government’s claim that some official agencies in Pakistan must have been involved in the Mumbai incident, Mr. Levitte said he had been through the dossier India had prepared and handed over to France. “To my knowledge, the dossier doesn’t say that any official agency of Pakistan was involved.” He added that he wished to complement and pay tribute to those Indian officials who had assembled the dossier. “As far as the Government of France is concerned, it is totally credible. This is also the judgment of our intelligence agencies,” he said. “What we want from Pakistan is full cooperation. Total cooperation… This is the least that we as a democracy and a friend of India can ask.”

France was also calling on India to show “restraint” and resume the composite dialogue process with Pakistan “at the appropriate moment,” Mr. Levitte said. Countries cannot choose their neighbours, he added, “so we encouraged the resumption of dialogue, especially since this process had made considerable progress in recent years.” But for that to happen, he stressed, “there is need for full cooperation by Pakistan and punishment by law of those who have done [the Mumbai terrorist attacks].”

Within the space of 72 hours, Indian officials have witnessed first-hand the contrasting diplomatic styles of two major powers.

Where Britain, through the public and closed-door statements of Foreign Secretary David Miliband, managed to anger and upset India, France, say officials, came across as a nation much more in tune with Indian concerns. In particular, officials appreciate the fact that Paris was not making facile linkages between Mumbai and Kashmir. By encouraging the resumption of the composite dialogue, Mr. Levitte was essentially reminding the Indian side that all outstanding issues with Pakistan should be resolved. But unlike Mr. Miliband, who saw Kashmir as the cause of Mumbai, the French took care to say they understood the dialogue process could not proceed unless Pakistan acted against the terrorists.

In his meeting with reporters too, the contrast was apparent. If Mr. Miliband publicly disagreed with India’s request that the terrorist masterminds be handed over, Mr. Levitte refused to get drawn in to the question of where the men should be tried. “It is not for me to tell you whether they should be extradited or not,” he said. “What we say is that justice must be delivered. And that those who planned this act must be punished by law.”

Mr. Levitte said he had had very constructive discussions with both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counterpart, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan. Apart from Mumbai and the question of Pakistan, the two sides touched on the Indo-French defence partnership, civil nuclear cooperation and key global issues like the financial crisis, climate change and the conflict in West Asia. He hailed the recent agreement Areva had struck with NPCIL for the supply of 300 tonnes of uranium and said France looked forward to the formal commencement of work on the construction of nuclear power plants in India.

On France’s bid to supply the Rafale for the IAF’s forthcoming order for 126 multi-role combat aircraft, Mr. Levitte said Paris was participating in the competition alongside rivals from the United States, Russia and Europe. “We have to accept the rules of the competition,” he said, adding, “provided these are the same for everybody.”

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page