‘Singh`s visit to Pak depends on 26/11 progress’

PM Manmohan Singh`s visit to Pakistan hinges on the progress on action taken by Islamabad against the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attack.

London: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh`s visit to Pakistan hinges on the progress on action taken by Islamabad against the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attack, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said on Thursday.

"The Prime Minister has said he is looking forward to the visit, but wants substantive progress on Pakistan`s action against perpetrators of the Mumbai attack," Mathai said after delivering a keynote address at the day-long Fifth IISS-MEA Foreign Policy Dialogue at the International Institute for Strategic Studies here. He noted that "some progress has been made in trade and people-to-people relations with Pakistan, but not much progress has been made in other areas." Replying to a question on India`s relations with China, he said, "It is a matter of satisfaction that we have been able to establish peace and tranquility. We have set up a mechanism to constantly monitor the situation. It was set up last year." With regard to progress in implementing the Indo-US nuclear deal, the Foreign Secretary said, "We had reached agreements with three countries for setting up nuclear plans and we are scaling up the nuclear energy to 700 MW. "The first and second unit of the Kalpakkam plant is about to go on stream." On Afghanistan, he said "the political process to bring about normalcy there must be Afghan-led and the red-lines must be observed." Noting that Indian aid to Afghanistan today was USD 2 billion, Mathai said "Afghanistan should be seen as an opportunity (to help restore normalcy) than a problem." He said a general agreement for Turkmanistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan India (TAPI) energy pipeline has already taken place and "that could be a genuine game changer." PTI