Islamabad is taking Jindal’s claims seriously: Salman Bashir

Salman Bashir, the newly elected Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India, has said that Islamabad was taking seriously what Abu Jindal claimed about Pakistan’s role in the Mumbai attacks.

While speaking to an India TV channel, the newly Pakistani envoy said he observes a sea change in the atmosphere with India. He was of the opinion that the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will not only cement the bilateral ties but take them substantially to the fore.

He observed, “Let me say that it was in Thimpu when both our prime ministers met and had a plus one-hour conversation and then later they called us and briefed us. And it was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who said that we should invest in building trusts by having frequent visits, exchanges at all levels. I think that is happening and that is huge in terms of where we were”.

Reiterating Pakistan’s offer to assist India with a joint investigation into Abu Jindal’s case, he rejected the New Delhi’s suggestion that the alleged Mumbai terror mastermind was helped by Islamabad in any way.

In his view, it was really unbelievable and incredible to allege Pakistani institutions for terrorist activities when its own army headquarters and spy agencies are attacked.

He, however, said that Islamabad was very serious about speeding up the stalled trail of the existing suspects in the Mumbai carnage and anything that has got to do with the militancy.

He further stated that the two countries were working accordingly and had exchanged 25 plus documents. India provided some 12 dossiers to Islamabad while in return it handed over some 13 dossiers to New Delhi, he added.

Commenting about neighboring ties he Salman Bashir remarked, “You mentioned India-China model, there is also the Pakistan-China model, there is also the China-Japan model, you know we have models in the present day and age. I think the world has changed, changing fast, the region is changing fast. There are lot of opportunities between Pakistan and India”.

The Pakistani envoy showed consent over the recent joint-statement issued by the foreign secretaries in which they placed Kashmir at number six under terrorism.

He was of the opinion that the Indian Prime Minister should pay a visit to Islamabad that would go a long way in not only cementing but advancing the bilateral ties.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jul 16 2012. Filed under National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.