With Pak trying to keep violence in Kashmir away from the purview of the mechanism, India asserted that any terror act is to be tackled under the initiative.
ISLAMABAD: With Pakistan trying to keep violence in Jammu and Kashmir away from the purview of the joint Anti-Terror Mechanism, India on Tuesday asserted that any act of terrorism on its soil is to be tackled under the initiative.
As the fourth round of composite dialogue kicked off here, the two countries discussed terrorism, including the recent attack on the cross-border Samjhauta Express, besides Jammu and Kashmir among other issues.
The talks between Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammad Khan will continue on Wednesday after which the outcome will be announced at a joint press conference.
Asked to comment on reports that Pakistan has said violence in Jammu and Kashmir could not be covered under the mechanism, Menon replied, "We will raise with Pakistan what concerns us and Pakistan will raise what concerns them. Why do you look for distinctions?"
He said the joint statement issued in Havana in September last after the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf makes everything quite clear that any act of terror will be considered under the anti-terror mechanism.
India will consider anything Pakistan gives regarding terrorism under the mechanism and expects Islamabad to do the same, Menon said.
His comments were sought on Islamabad's claim that violence in Jammu and Kashmir could not be covered under the anti-terror mechanism as it was a "struggle for independence".
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri merely said "this mechanism is between India and Pakistan". The remark is seen as the one that implies that Jammu and Kashmir is not part of India.
The Indian Foreign Secretary called on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Kasuri.
Describing the first meeting of the Anti-Terror Mechanism meeting here last week as positive, Kasuri said "past has to be forgotten".
Apparently referring to the names of wanted men India wants deported, the Pakistan Foreign Minister said if the mechanism became just a forum for "exchange of lists, then it will be a photo-op and the potential of the mechanism will be lost".
He said terrorism hurts both the countries and the anti-terror mechanism should be taken seriously so that the problem is addressed.
Menon recalled that after the meeting of anti-terror mechanism, the two sides had agreed to prevent future attacks and share information.
At the talks between Menon and Khan, the two sides discussed terrorism, including the recent Samjhauta Express blasts which killed 68 nationals of both the countries traveling from New Delhi to Lahore.
New Delhi has already given to Islamabad the photograph of a suspected Pakistani national who is believed to be involved in the blasts in Panipat in Haryana on February 18 and sought cooperation in tracking him down.
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