Pakistan on Monday said India has not sent any formal communication regarding any charges or evidence or information to us about Mumbai attacks.
"If there is any solid information, if there is any concrete evidence, it should be shared with Pakistan and this is our standing offer in the context of our being part of the international coalition against terrorism," foreign secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan said at the weekly briefing here.
He described the postponement of review meeting of the composite dialogue in New Delhi this week as a negative development and the linkage between this postponement and terrorist attacks in Mumbai as incongruous and out of place.
He said President Musharraf has assured publicly in a recent interview as well that Pakistan would help in the investigation on the basis of shared information or evidence.
Pakistan is part of the international coalition against terrorism and we are co-operating with all countries on the basis of shared information," he added.
He said Pakistan does not allow its territory to be used against any country; this is our firm policy and commitment and no country has done more than Pakistan in the fight against internal and external terrorism and the international community recognised Pakistan's outstanding contribution."
In reply to a question, he said for both Pakistan and India there is no alternative to peace process. Composite dialogue is an important part of the overall process and the international community is deeply interested in the continuation and success of the process.
"On our part we will keep the spirit of April 18 joint declaration and we would not be reversing any of the CBMs. "There should not be any linkage between efforts to combat terrorism and efforts to resolve problems between states," he added.
The foreign secretary, who was to lead Pakistan delegation at the New Delhi review meeting of the third round of the composite dialogue between Pakistan and India, said India has formally communicated to Islamabad that the review meeting would not be taking place on the tentative dates, which were earlier agreed and that new dates would be given.
He said India has not indicated a timeframe for these dates and the reason that has been suggested for this postponement is the "vitiated environment" resulting from terrorist attacks on commuter trains in Mumbai on July 11. He said Pakistan has unequivocally condemned these attacks in Mumbai. "Such barbaric acts of terrorism, wherever occur, deserve condemnation in the strongest terms," he added.
"As regards the composite dialogue, which is part of the overall peace process between Pakistan and India, this is an important engagement between the two countries, which is in the interest of both Pakistan and India and also indeed in the interest of the region," he emphasised.
He said: "It is also part of our overall policy to promote and build a peaceful environment; an environment of confidence in our neighbourhood and it is with this conviction that we are pursuing the peace process." He said: "We emphasise that it must be sustained, retained; it must progress and it must succeed because it is in conformity with the spirit of April 18 joint declaration of last year when President General Pervez Musharraf had gone to New Delhi."
He recalled the Delhi declaration had emphasised terrorist acts should not be allowed to impede the peace process and that peace process was irreversible.
"So it is from that point of view that Pakistan views the unspecified postponement as a negative development," he added. The foreign secretary emphasised the peace process is important for both Pakistan and India and for the region.
"There are various aspects of the peace process; it attempts at building confidence through specific measures and it also aims at resolving problems, including the outstanding Kashmir dispute," he pointed out.
He admitted there have been some disappointments while there has been some progress on confidence-building measures as well as improvement in relationship between the two countries, which was very important for India and Pakistan and for the whole region.
He said Pakistan and India have yet to find solutions to some of the outstanding problems, including the Kashmir problem; yet the two sides have held some talks about these outstanding problems. Therefore, he said, there was no reason to be despondent, though the progress was not according to our expectations but progress was achieved through the peace process.
There has been certain confidence building; there has been improved relationship; there has been better environment in South Asia, which is important for all countries, including for Pakistan and India.
Therefore, he said, in no way Pakistan underestimates the value, the significance and the importance of the composite dialogue, which also has the support of the international community. On measures agreed between the two sides so far, he said we would want to maintain those measures. Within that framework the trade should also continue.
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