'Kasab's death rap won't affect Indo-Pak talks'

The death sentence awarded to Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested during the terror siege on Mumbai in November 2008, will not affect any future talks between New Delhi and Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said.

Qureshi clarified that the Mumbai special anti-terror court's judgment against Kasab will not hinder the proposed talks between the foreign ministers of the two neighbouring countries.

He said the date and venue of the meeting will soon be finalised.

Qureshi added that Pakistani experts were yet to review the judgment in the Kasab case.

On the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit in Thimphu in April, both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani had mandated their respective foreign ministers and foreign secretaries to meet and work out the modalities for resuming deliberations between the two estranged countries.

Condemning the ghastly Mumbai terror attacks, in which 166 people were killed and over 200 injured, Qureshi said Pakistan has also been a victim of terrorism.

"Those who lost their relatives in terror incidents in the country could feel the pain of people who suffered in the Mumbai attack," The Daily Times quoted Qureshi as saying.