MEA won’t speculate on foreign role
By OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, May 14: The ministry of external affairs on Wednesday refused to be drawn into speculation about the likely involvement of state or non-state actors from Pakistan or Bangladesh in the Jaipur serial blasts. Foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon would only say terrorism is a fact of life for India and investigations are still on to ascertain who is behind the blasts. "We are still in the process of investigation. When we come to a conclusion about the roots, sources, etc then we will decide what to do," Mr Menon on Wednesday told a news conference which was called to brief the media on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Bhutan.
"We don’t want to jump to conclusions," he told a reporter who wanted to know whether India would raise the matter with Bangladesh as the Harkat-ul Jihad-e-Islami (HuJI) terrorist group of that country is suspected of orchestrating the Jaipur blasts. The foreign secretary, nevertheless, acknowledged that spurt in infiltration and cross-border terrorism will be high on the agenda of his talks next week in Pakistan.
"(Infiltration) is very high on the agenda under peace and security. Certainly, we will raise it and we look forward to discussing it and dealing with it," Mr Menon said when asked whether India will raise the issue with Pakistan. Mr Menon will hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart in Islamabad on May 20. The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan are mandated to discuss peace and security and Kashmir under the eight subjects of the composite dialogue process.
External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and Pakistan foreign minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi will hold talks on May 21, also in Islamabad.