Chidambaram heads to Pak with terror on agenda

Home Minister P Chidambaram will arrive in Islamabad on Friday on a two-day visit to Pakistan during which he is expected to press for action against Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed and seek voice samples of handlers of the Mumbai attackers. Chidambaram, who is the first minister from India to visit Pakistan since 26/11, is expected to have a bilateral meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik soon after his arrival in Islamabad. The talks between Chidambaram, who will attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Interior Minister's Conference on Saturday, and Malik are expected to be centred on terrorism emanating from Pakistan and the steps India would like the country to take to end it.

Chidambaram will seek to know the status of investigation and trial being conducted in Pakistan in the Mumbai attacks case. The Indian side would seek to know the follow up on the 11 dossiers given to Pakistan, detailing the evidence against Saeed and others in the Mumbai attacks case. Ahead of the visit, India gave one more dossier to Pakistan on June 18 providing further information about Saeed's role in Mumbai attacks. This was based on questioning of Pakistani-American Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Coleman Headley by a team of National Investigation Agency earlier this month. Pakistan's Supreme Court had on May 25

set Saeed free, arguing that there was not enough evidence to keep him in prison. This has disappointed India, which maintains that it had given ample material regarding involvement of Saeed in the Mumbai attacks and several other cases.

During his visit, Chidambaram is expected to press Pakistan to pursue the probe against Saeed by following up on the leads provided in the Indian dossiers. He is also expected to seek voice samples of Pakistan-based "handlers" of the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008, they said. These include seven Lashkar T operatives who are currently undergoing trial in Pakistan. India has been demanding voice samples of the handlers whose conversations were intercepted while the attack unfolded as this will help in the investigations into the Mumbai terror attack.

Chidambaram will join his counterparts from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives at the SAARC Interior Ministers' conference. Strengthening of police cooperation will be high on agenda of the conference during which India is expected to press for visible collaboration by member countries in the fight against terrorism. The conference will deliberate on ways to implement police networking and exchange of information, sources said.