Pranab hopes Zardari will halt terror launch from Pak

India, he said, welcomed the change ushering in of democratic government in Pakistan and the two countries have had “fruitful discussions” on various issues facing them since the new government took over.

During recent meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session, Zardari had assured Singh that he would ensure that Pakistan’s territory is not used as launching pad for terrorism. It is in this context that joint terrorism mechanism has been established to combat the menace.

The question came up in the context of terrorist attacks in India and Indian embassy in Kabul.

Replying to another question, Mukherjee said India is interested in an early conclusion of the Doha round of trade talks but the questions of “market distorting” subsidies to agriculture by the developed countries remains the contentious issues. Most other issues, he said, had been resolved.

To a question about progress made in using thorium, which is widely available in India, as fuel for nuclear power plants so as to reduce dependence for foreign countries, he said India has substantial work on that but lacked critical technologies in some areas.

With the country now getting waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group, it should now be possible to obtain the technologies, he added.