Pillai's remarks 'under-pinned' the talks: Krishna

Disapproving the comments made by Union Home Secretary G K Pillai on the eve of Indo-Pak talks, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Wednesday said his whole visit to Islamabad was 'under-pinned' by the remarks, the timing of which was 'very unfortunate.'

Clearly unhappy with Pillai's statement about the involvement of Inter Services Inteeligence in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, a day ahead of his visit to Pakistan to hold talks, Krishna said if he was the home secretary, he would not have spoken about the details of the Pakistani-American David Headley's revelations.

Factually, Pillai was 'very much in order' in speaking about the disclosures made by Headley to Federal Bureau of Investigation and Indian interrogators but 'the timing was something which was very unfortunate,' Krishna told PTI in an interview in New Delhi.

The minister disclosed that he discussed Pillai's comments with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whom he had briefed on his parleys with his Pakistani counterpart S M Qureshi and other leaders.

He insisted that the government was speaking in one voice on Pakistan and said he was 'glad' that the Union home ministry has now announced the appointment of a spokesperson. In recent months, Pillai has been briefing the media.

Disagreeing with the perception that his discussion with Qureshi had ended in a deadlock, Krishna said he was 'quite satisfied' with his visit which has bridged the trust deficit 'to some extent.'

Rejecting suggestions that the outcome of his talks was a setback to the overall dialogue process, the minister said the visit was a confidence building exercise and 'to that extent, we have succeeded.'

Expressing his firm belief that India and Pakistan needed to remain engaged, Krishna said there was no other alternative.

Responding to a question on Bharatiya Janata Party's stand that India should not talk to Pakistan now, the minister said he had briefed the BJP leaders before his visit to Islamabad and conveyed the desirability of engaging Pakistan.

"There is no alternative. If somebody can come out with an alternative, I can consider that," he said.

Answering questions about Qureshi's undiplomatic remarks after the talks and if he was willing to ignore such behaviour, Krishna said, "I am willing to mind my business and concentrate on my work."

However, he dismissed as 'ridiculous' the comparison sought to be drawn by Qureshi between Jamat ud Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed's anti-India statement and Pillai's remarks on ISI.

Krishna said the minute details of how the 'whole conspiracy of 26/11 was hatched and executed' showed the 'diabolical nature of the conspiracy.'

The fact that these details had come out during the interrogation of Headley by FBI put much more onus on Pakistan to act against the conspirators, he said.

Krishna welcomed Qureshi's assurance that Pakistan would act on the leads provided by Headley and would hasten the trial of those involved in the Mumbai attack. "I am glad about it. That is expected from that government (of Pakistan)," he said.

Responding to a question on the perception that the first session of his talks with Qureshi had gone off well, prompting Indian officials to promise some good news, Krishna said he was not 'very sure' of the outcome of the meeting till the last minute.

Asked about his meeting with United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Krishna said he had briefed her on what transpired at his meeting with Qureshi.

"She is happy that India and Pakistan are talking." On whether she had raised the issue of Kashmir, which she has described as an impediment in Indo-Pak relations, the Minister said, "With me no specifics were mentioned."

However, the external affairs minister disagreed that Kashmir was the only issue between the two countries.

"Kashmir is one of the questions which keeps India and Pakistan apart but there are a number of other concerns such as terrorism," he said.

He also advocated a graduated approach in the bilateral relations with Pakistan, saying India wanted to start with issues which are 'helpful and beneficial' to both countries such as release of fishermen, people-to-people contact before taking up complex issues like Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek.

Krishna said he had raised India's 'immediate concern' of terrorism during his meetings in Pakistan. "I would have failed in my duty as External Affairs Minister if I would not have put enough pressure on Pakistan to address itself to our concerns about 26/11 and what happened after that," he said.

"I wanted to know how the trial is proceeding. I wanted to find out....I wanted them to hasten up the trial. All the other things can come up later," he said.