While South Block is waiting anxiously for Mumbai police to act ahead of the November 14-15 talks, sources said there may be a legal question in taking up the matter with Pakistan without placing the evidence before the court. There is fear that the MCOCA court could later take exception to any sharing of evidence with another country before a formal chargesheet is made out.

Top Home Ministry and MEA officials are in constant touch over the issue as the setting up of the anti-terror mechanism agreed on in Havana is one of the principal objectives of the secretary-level talks this time. Options are being explored on whether information can be shared under a different format without inviting objections from the court.

The police has claimed that ISI was behind the serial blasts on Mumbai local trains that killed 187. It further claimed that 11 Pakistanis with local logistic help carried out these blasts.

In the backdrop of the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf at Havana, India plans to push for not only setting up the mechanism but also hold a meeting between the relevant officials. The mechanism is expected to headed by additional secretaries on both sides, with New Delhi keen on ensuring it is a small and efficient group that can work on all aspects of terror — from investigations to funding issues. The understanding is that internally a “feeding structure” can be worked out so that necessary inputs are available to nodal officers on time. But the emphasis from New Delhi will be to not set up an Indo-Pak group with a large battery of officials. Sources indicated that this was one of the problems with the home secretary-level talks under the composite dialogue.

Besides terror, India will also be looking at what approach Pakistan brings to the table on Siachen. In the joint statement reached at Havana, Singh and Musharraf directed the foreign secretaries to arrange for talks on Siachen. This needs to be seen the backdrop of the joint statement at New Delhi when Musharraf travelled here.

The Pakistan President had shown a clear indication to settle the matter, but the defence secretary-level talks have not reflected this. Sources point out there is still no flexibility on accommodating the Indian position to verify existing troop positions on the Actual Ground Position Line.

While arranging the schedule for the talks, India will look to push for a more productive round of talks between the defence secretaries of both sides in the next round.