Indo-Pak officials trade list of 'wanted people'
AFP, Islamabad
Pakistan and India exchanged lists of people wanted by each country for acts of terrorism and other crimes, ending a two-day bilateral meeting here Wednesday, officials said. The talks between senior interior ministry officials of the two countries focussed on ways to counter terrorism and drug trafficking in the region. Pakistan's interior secretary Tariq Mahmud and Indian home secretary Dhirendra Singh led the delegations. A senior Pakistani official told AFP Islamabad had presented a list of some 53 people allegedly responsible for terrorist acts in Pakistan to the Indian side which gave its own list of 25 men. "They came up with a dossier of 25 wanted men they say are hiding in Pakistan, while we gave them names of 53 men we want India to hand over to us," the official who could not be identified told AFP. The names on the two lists were not revealed. A joint statement issued after the talks made no mention of the list. It said both sides "reaffirmed their determination to combat terrorism and emphasised the need for complete elimination of this menace." The discussions were "frank and candid," it said. The official said bo|h sides expressed concerns over alleged sabotage training camps in each other's territory. The official said India voiced its concern over alleged training camps in Pakistan for militants involved in the anti-Indian insurgency in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir. He said Islamabad told the Indians that Pakistan had done everything possible to rein in militants. He said the Pakistani side also conveyed to the Indians "our concerns over the existence of terrorist training camps on the Indian side of the Line of Control in Kashmir and international border for sabotage activities in Pakistan." The meeting on the sensitive issue of terrorism was part of a series of talks on different issues under the dialogue process initiated by the nuclear armed neighbours early this year to resolve issues dividing them including the key dispute over Kashmir. India has frequently accused Pakistan of backing Islamic militants fighting its forces in Indian controlled Kashmir. Pakistan denies the allegations, saying it only offers moral support and calls the guerrillas "freedom fighters" battling a violent oppressor. New Delhi says Pakistan-based Islamic militants are operating in Indian Kashmir despite the peace process.
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