Washington: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has vowed to bring to justice those responsible for the Mumbai attacks after US President Barack Obama conveyed to him India's concerns on the issue.
Following his meeting with Obama on Sunday, Gilani said he believed that those responsible for the 2008 terrorist assault on India's financial hub should be punished.
"Certainly, I am against terrorism and always of the opinion that those who are the culprit, they should be brought to justice," the Premier said at a dinner he hosted for the Pakistani media.
Briefing reporters on the Obama-Gilani meeting, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the US President had brought up some of the issues he discussed with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"President Obama told us he believes Mr Singh is sincere in his desire to engage Pakistan... But Mr Singh also wants Pakistan to bring to justice those responsible for the Mumbai attacks," Qureshi said.
Obama told Gilani that he too believed any action against the Mumbai suspects would be a positive step, he said.
During his meeting with Obama, Singh also raised the issue of direct access to Mumbai attacks plotter and Pakistani-American LeT operative David Headley and said the US military aid to Islamabad would ultimately be used against India and spoke of Pakistan-backed groups trying to oust New Delhi from Afghanistan.
According to Pakistani officials, Obama did not raise any of these issues in his meeting with Gilani.
However, Obama told Gilani that better relations between India and Pakistan would have a positive impact on the entire region.
"Mr Obama said that while he realised both India and Pakistan were sovereign states, he also wanted to see them improve their relations... Mr Obama said that better relations will bring more opportunities for both the countries," Qureshi said.
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