Fgn Secy meets PC, Thimpu meet with Pak on agenda

Hoping that India and Pakistan could come to a satisfactory conclusion about what is required for the 26/11 trial to go ahead, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao on Friday said that 'justice has to be done' by bringing to book all those responsible for Mumbai terror strikes.

Rao made the comments after a nearly 20-minutes meeting with Home Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi.

The Foreign Secretary, who is leaving for Thimphu for a SAARC meeting, will hold bilateral talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir on the margins on February 6-7.

Noting that 26/11 trial in Pakistan was "one of the issues under discussion between the two governments, particularly between the interior ministry of Pakistan and our home ministry", she said New Delhi and Islamabad have been in correspondence about the exchange of evidence that is required for the trial to go forward after the meeting of the ministers in last June.

"This is an ongoing effort. This is an ongoing exercise.

We hope that both the governments come to satisfactory conclusion about what is required so that the trial could be satisfactorily concluded because justice has to be done," she said.

Although, Rao did not divulge the details of her meeting with the home minister, issues such 26/11 trial progress in Pakistan, India's demand for voice samples of masterminds of the Mumbai attacks and recent developments in the investigations of Samjhauta Express blast are believed to have figured in the discussions.

Commenting on her forthcoming meeting with Bashir, she said India will see how it can pick up the thread once again.

"We are going to meet after a certain interregnum, a few months after last meeting. So, we will see how we can pick up the thread once again. I am sure we will exchange ideas. Let's hope that we would be able to pick up convergence of views. Every such meeting is an attempt to build greater comprehension of each other's position and deeper understanding," the foreign secretary said.