Rejecting Pakistan’s demand for going beyond the issue of terror, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Monday said the least India expected from that country was “tangible results” in the Mumbai attacks probe which would help build an atmosphere for purposeful talks.

The minister said India has not set a “benchmark” for Pakistan but expected it to deliver tangible results in the investigations and prosecutions. “We have suggested to the Government of Pakistan that the perpetrators of that attack on Mumbai be brought to justice within the framework of the Pakistan law,” Krishna said. “That is the least that we expect from them,” said the minister who had a two-hour long meeting here on Sunday with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Krishna said further talks between the two countries would depend on concrete action taken by Islamabad on the Mumbai attacks, particularly in the upcoming trial of the accused. Qureshi had on Sunday said the two countries could not confine discussions to only terror or Mumbai without touching on other outstanding issues that form the Composite Dialogue.

“You need an atmosphere for talks to to be purposeful,” Krishna said on being asked whether the dialogue process would restart only when India saw credible action being taken by Pakistan against the perpetrators.

“Well, that has always been India’s position and I think very rightly so. I think that is a sensible approach,” Krishna said.

Both at the Foreign Secretary-level as also at the Krishna-Qureshi meetings here, the focus was on dealing with the terror issue and the Mumbai attacks probe.

... contd.