EAM Krishna urges meets with his Pakistani counterpart in New York, urges progress in bringing the perpetrators of Mumbai attack to justice; Interior Minister Malik: US will not be allowed to bomb Quetta; US Ambassador Patterson
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  • External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna met with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmud Qureshi in New York on September 27 and impressed upon him that the sustainability of the dialogue process between the two countries was subject to Pakistan’s action on cross border militancy and in bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks to justice. Both sides could not agree on a specific time table for restarting the dialogue process. Mr. Krishna however stated India’s intentions to carry out “purposeful negotiations” and added that there was no need for back-channel diplomacy when the “front channel is open1.”

    Interior Minister Rehman Malik, speaking to Reuters in London on September 28, stated that Pakistan would not allow the US to carry out air strikes in Quetta and termed information about the presence of Mullah Omar or Osama bin Laden in Balochistan as “incorrect and baseless.” Malik also rejected the existence of the Quetta Shura2. US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson however asserted in an interview with Washington Post that targeting the Quetta Shura was high on Washington’s list of priorities3.

    Reports meanwhile noted that the US was planning to reduce the use of aid contractors for distributing aid in Pakistan and instead funnel money directly to the government and local groups, to cut overhead costs among other issues. A State Department official was quoted as stating that the US embassy in Pakistan was “working quickly to identify capable partners and mechanisms4.”

    Prime Minister Gilani, addressing the Pakistani Senate on October 2, stated that the government was finding it difficult to accommodate the more than 3,000 Taliban militants who had surrendered. He added that 2000 more militants were likely to surrender soon in the coming weeks.5

    In other developments, even as a US counter terrorism official was quoted as stating that Hakimullah Mehsud, the new chief of Taliban could have been killed in a recent clash with a rival group, US forces killed over 15 militants in different parts of Waziristan6.

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