Pakistani President Zardari visits India; JuD defies US bounty on Hafiz Saeed, saying it was made to “please India”; Indus Water Commission to be formed
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    • In a significant development, the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, has held "friendly" talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a private visit to India on April 8, 2012. "We would like to have better relations," Mr Zardari said after private talks with Prime Minister Singh in New Delhi. The Indian leader said they shared a desire for "normal" relations between their countries. It was the first visit to India by a Pakistani head of state in seven years. The two men last met in 2009 in Russia. PM Singh said he had accepted an invitation to visit Pakistan as soon as mutually acceptable dates were worked out. President Zardari later departed for a visit to a Muslim shrine in Ajmer, 350km (220 miles) south-west of the Indian capital. The shrine in Ajmer is dedicated to a Sufi saint, Moinudin Chishti, and is one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in the region, receiving a constant flow of devotees. 1

    According to reports, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has issued a strong response to the 10-million-dollar bounty offered by the United States for information leading to his arrest. Jamaat-ud-Dawa gave a defiant response, condemning the US move and saying it was made to “please India”. The reward for Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) who makes frequent public appearances in Pakistan, was announced by US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman in India on Monday, and posted on the US government’s Rewards for Justice website. The Rewards for Justice notice said Saeed was “suspected of masterminding numerous terrorist attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 166 people, including six American citizens.” 2

    In other developments, reports noted that Pakistan and India on April 6, 2012, mutually agreed to form an independent Indus water commission comprising of neutral and transparent professionals. The decision was taken in a conference between Pakistan and India in New Delhi which was held under the banner of ‘track to diplomacy’ initiative. The two countries also decided to install satellite telemeter system in Kashmir which will monitor the quality and quantity of water supplied through the rivers at 100 different places. The experts of Indus water commission will be inducted from the World Bank, the United Nations (UN) and the European Union who will work under direct supervision of the UN. 3

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