Kannur:
Just a day ahead of the meeting of the Defence Secretaries of both nations, India indulged in some tough posturing with Pakistan over the issue of terrorism.
Claiming that about 42 terrorist camps were still functioning in Pakistan, Defence Minister A K Antony said that "co-operation" between the two nations wasn't possible if the terror tap continued to flow from across the border.
"Without destroying these terrorist camps, it would be difficult to have permanent cooperation in Indo-Pak relations," he said.
However, the minister said that the government was keen to continue the dialogue process as India wanted to have good relations with Pakistan.
"Dialogue is an important factor. Without dialogue nothing can be achieved," he said.
Mr Antony's comments came just a day before the start of the two-day Defence Secretary-level talks in New Delhi.
Apart from cross-border terrorism which is expected to feature in the talks, the vexed issue of Siachen is also expected to be discussed. India wants Pakistan to authenticate the position of each others' troops, but Pakistan has been reluctant. As a result over 15,000 Indian troops and as many Pakistani ones are positioned along the 100 km-plus battleline.
The other issues that may be discussed are ceasefire violations along the border as well as Pakistan's tactical or small nuclear weapons.
Both sides are also likely to bring up recent aggressive posturing. The Indian military chiefs had said they were capable of an operation like the US one against Osama. Pakistan in response had said they had identified Indian targets in case New Delhi dared any "misadventure".
The talks between the two nations have assumed more significance in the wake of the terror strike at Karachi's naval aviation base as also the killing Osama bin Laden at a safe house in Abbottabad on May 2.