New Delhi, July 12: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
tomorrow heads for France and Egypt, during which he will meet
his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in the hope of
getting a categoric commitment that Mumbai attackers would be
punished and cross-border terror stopped.
Ahead of his meeting with Gilani in Sharm-el Sheikh in
Egypt on the margins of NAM Summit, Singh made it clear that
New Delhi would "do all that is necessary" to resolve all
outstanding issues if Pakistan takes "credible action" to deal
with terrorist elements targeting India.
Noting that he was looking forward to his meeting with
Gilani, Singh said he was hoping that the Pakistani leader
would give a "renewed reaffirmation" to bring the perpetrators
of 26/11 attacks to justice and that they would not allow
Pakistani soil to be used for terror acts directed against
India.
The Singh-Gilani meeting, expected on July 16, will take
place one month after the Indian leader met President Asif Ali
Zardari in Yekaterinburg in Russia. During that meeting, Singh
had bluntly told Zardari in media glare that Pakistan must end
terror directed against India.
In the first leg of his five-day visit, Singh will travel
to Paris where he will be the Chief Guest at French National
Day on Tuesday, becoming the first Indian leader to have such
an exceptional honour.
An External Affairs Ministry release said the visit is
expected to further enhance the "strategic partnership"
between India and France.
Bureau Report
