Washington:
In some unusually tough talk, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rebuffed his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Washington on Tuesday, for saying that Pakistan did not have enough evidence to act against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leaders like Hafiz Saeed,
Singh said: " I do not see the need for any further evidence about the role of Lashkar-e-Taiba. I would hate to enter into an argument with Prime Minister Gilani at a press conference. I think American intelligence and forces too pointed out the role of LeT, and it s link with al Qaeda. Hafiz Saeed, Ilyas Kashmiri and Zaki-ur-Rahman are names connected to fanning of terrorism (against India)."
Singh made it clear that India could resume dialogue with Pakistan on all issues if "concrete" and "effective" action is taken against those behind the Mumbai terror strikes - but there was no need for the US or any other country to get involved in Indo-Pak affairs. "I believe the issues in South Asia can be resolved and should be resolved by meaningful bilateral dialogue. I do not think there is any need for a outside force to come in play," he said.
Singh made known his dissatisfaction over insufficient action by Pakistan with regard to those behind 26/11 as he said that several of the "conspirators" were still roaming about freely. Singh, who conveyed to President Barack Obama India's unhappiness over Pakistan's attitude on dealing with terrorism, hoped that the points he raised would "weigh considerably" on the US government. Disagreeing that he had taken a "complaint" against Pakistant to Obama, he said he had to "explain" India's perspective, which is an "open secret", whenever anyone asks at meetings about the bilateral relations between India and Pakistan.
"We have said more than once that Pakistan, if it takes credible steps to bring the perpetrators of the horrible crime of 26/11 to book... that's the minimum we expect from Pakistan, and if Pakistan does that, we would be very happy to talk to them and beginning talking to them once again on all our issues," Singh said.
When pointed out that Pakistan was already prosecuting seven terrorists in connection with 26/11, the Prime Minister said there were "other people" named in the conspiracy who were "roaming about freely" in Pakistan. "That is the reality and these are facts which are brought about, not only by our intelligence agencies, but by intelligence agencies of friendly countries. We want Pakistan to at least bring those people to book and do it effectively."
At India's initiative, the two countries held Foreign Secretary-level talks in February to discuss the issue of cross-border terrorism hurting India. However, India has ruled out resumption of composite dialogue till it is satisfied with action Pakistan takes against perpetrators of Mumbai attacks.
Singh, who was in Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit that concluded on Tuesday, had two brief interactions with Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the meet. He was, however, evasive when asked whether he would meet Gilani in Bhutan during the SAARC Summit later this month. Singh said, "I think there is still time to think about the meeting in Bhutan. When we reach there we would cross the bridge."
(With PTI inputs)