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Peace, security to figure in Indo-Pak talks next week

By Onkar Singh in New Delhi
Last updated on: May 14, 2008 16:24 IST
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Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon is going to Pakistan on May 19 to set up the agenda for Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee's visit to that country during the same period.

Menon said continued infiltration is a "problem" and it will be raised during the foreign secretary-level and foreign ministerial talks in Islamabad.

He was addressing a press conference in New Delhi to brief the media about Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's forthcoming trip to Bhutan.

"It (infiltration) is very high on agenda under peace and security (subject of composite dialogue). Certainly, we will raise it (infiltration) and we look forward to discussing it and dealing with it," he told reporters when asked whether India will raise the issue with Pakistan.

"We have said that the absence of violence and stopping crossborder terrorism is very high priority. It is a necessary condition in many ways in what we are trying to achieve in the relationship with Pakistan," Menon said.

Menon said he would not like to jump to any conclusion as to which terrorist group was behind the Jaipur bomb blasts.

Asked if the government of India was taken by surprise by the series of bomb blasts that shook Jaipur on Tuesday night particularly when it came after firing from across the border from the Pakistani Rangers and the killing of innocent persons in Samba sector in Jammu resign, the foreign secretary said that peace and security would be high on the agenda when he meets his counterpart next week.

Talking about the terrorist involvement in the Jaipur blasts, Menon said he would not like to jump to conclusion as the investigations are still continuing.

"We have got to fight terrorism at every level," he said. According to him, terrorism has become a way of life.

Were you in Jaipur when the blasts occurred? Please mail us your report and/or photographs to citizen.reporter@rediffmail.com and we will feature it on rediff.com

Additional Reportage: PTI

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Onkar Singh in New Delhi