Terror tops Chidambaram's agenda during Pak visit

In the first ministerial visit from India to Pakistan since the terror strike on Mumbai, Home Minister P Chidambaram will travel to Islamabad on Friday on a two-day trip, during which he is expected to press for a probe against Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed and seek voice samples of the handlers of the 26/11 terrorists.

Chidambaram, who is visiting Pakistan to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Interior Minister's Conference on Saturday, is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik soon after his arrival in Islamabad.

The home minister is expected to focus on the issue of terrorism during his talks with his Pakistan counterpart.

Chidambaram will seek to know the status of the investigation and the trial being conducted in Pakistan in the Mumbai terror attacks case.

The Indian side will inquire about the follow up on the ten dossiers given to Pakistan till a few months ago, 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 the Mumbai terror attacks. This was based on the questioning of Pakistani-American LeT operative David Headley by a team of National Investigation Agency earlier in June.

Pakistan's Supreme Court had set Saeed free on May 25, arguing that there was not enough evidence to keep him in prison.

The move had disappointed India, which maintains that it had given ample material regarding the involvement of Saeed in the Mumbai terror 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 ten terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008, they said. These include seven LeT 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.

On Saturday, 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 the 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. A mechanism for police cooperation is already in place for the last two years but it has not really taken off, the sources said, adding India will underscore the need for making it an effective tool to fight the menace of terrorism afflicting South Asia.

India is also expected to press for early ratification by Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal of the SAARC Mutual Legal Assistance agreement on criminal matters to ensure that terrorism is combated effectively.

The agreement was reached at the SAARC Summit in Colombo in 2008.

India is expected to underscore that if any country is serious about fighting terrorism, its cooperation should be visible in terms of information-sharing and other aspects.

The conference will also discuss ways to strengthen the Colombo-based SAARC Terror Offences Monitoring Desk and Drug Offences Monitoring Desk, which are the nodal agencies for fight against this scourge.

A new proposal for maritime security and anti-piracy under the SAARC format will also be discussed. The proposal has been mooted by Sri Lanka and Maldives.

The conference will also discuss issues related to SAARC visas in the backdrop of proposals for expanding this category of travel documents.

At present Parliamentarians, judges, 100 identified business leaders, sports persons and 150 journalists are availing SAARC visa facility.

This will be reviewed at the upcoming conference. India is open to the idea of  liberalisation of visas to enable more people-to-people contacts but underlines the need to keep security interests in mind.