Pak put LeT role on record,helped India ease on talks

While the Indian side was clear that it would not start the dialogue until there is concrete,credible and visible action on the ground,the dossier was seen as a “progressive” step as it also came with a commitment to chargesheet the accused soon. This is expected to happen by tomorrow.

In this context,officials said,India did not want to be rigid in the conversation with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani while at the same time it did not want to be drawn into a firm commitment to resume the composite dialogue which the Pak delegation persisted with in light of the progress it had reported in the investigations.

As a result,the formulation in the joint statement,“Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed”,sources said,was the best the two sides could settle on.

It was obfuscating enough for several interpretations but did not bind either side to a firm commitment.

The only problem was going to be the adverse domestic reaction — a chance the PM was apparently willing to take.

If the dossier is any indication of the way Pak authorities are going to proceed in the case,sources said,then the chargesheet would be quite substantive. Pakistan has given details on each of the accused,which includes Zarar Shah,who has been identified as the person in-charge of the communications,and then there are details of proclaimed offenders like Kasab.

The LeT,incidentally,has been referred to as a “defunct organisation” with no links to other outfits in Pakistan.

While India would like to see the probe expand and bring in its ambit the entire infrastructure LeT runs,sources said,the fact that the contents in the dossier complement Indian and FBI investigations cannot also be completely overlooked. In many ways,the dossier puts on record a lot of what Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Khan has been claiming before the media and more.

Officials here had been saying that they would like Pakistan to officially convey these details to India as statements before the media do not hold validity beyond a certain extent and are often contradicted. The dossier does that and so is being seen as a step forward. Despite this,officials feel the test will be for Pakistan to follow this with actions. In the days from now until the Foreign Ministers meet in New York,India will be watching this space to fashion its next response.