Click to play videoNew Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made it clear that the relations between India and Pakistan will be strained unless Islamabad cracks down on anti-India terror groups.
"We discussed India-Pakistan relation which remains under strain. The primary cause of this is the terror attacks against India. We agreed that the Foreign Secretaries will discuss what Pakistan is doing and can do to prevent terrorism from Pakistan against India. My expectation is that the Foreign Secretaries will tell us if Pakistan had taken effective actions," said Singh aboard Air Force One while returning from Russia after attending the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.
"Does it (Pakistan) plan to take action? Well, we wish Pakistan well in dealing with the Taliban and the al-Qaeda but I would also like Pakistan to show the same determination in dealing with terrorist who operate from Pakistani side and commit act of terror against our country," added Singh.
Earlier, Singh had given Pakistan a blunt message to act on terror blaming Islamabad of not doing enough to tackle anti-India groups.
Manmohan told Pakistani Prime Minister Asif Ali Zardari on the sidelines of the SCO Summit at Yekaterinburg in Russia to stop the terror group based on Pakistani soil from targeting India.
"I am extremely happy to meet you, but my mandate is limited to telling you that the territory of Pakistan must not be allowed to be used for terrorism against India," was Singh's stern message to Zardari on Tuesday.
However, India's tough words have not gone down well in Pakistan with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Malik Amad Khan saying Singh's comments made during his meeting with Zardari were unacceptable to Islamabad.
Khan said Pakistan had asked the Indian government not to resort to "aggressive media statements" and clear the air by talking directly with Pakistan instead of using the media.
"I would still ask India to come to talks as engagements would be fruitful rather than estrangements," he is quoted as saying by PTI.
Pakistan will never allow any force to use its soil for terrorist activities directed against any country, he said.
"During the past six months, Indian officials uttered some inappropriate statements about their certain reservations which were totally against diplomatic norms," Khan said.
Khan said that Zardari too raised Pakistan's concerns regarding "Indian interference" in the country's internal affairs and forcefully presented Islamabad's point of view on issues of concerns with New Delhi during the meeting.
Opposition PML-Q Senator Jamal Leghari raised a point of order on Singh's remark and said it should be condemned by the house.
However, Khan told reporters that Pakistan was hopeful there would be follow up ministerial-level meetings between the two countries in the wake of the meeting between Zardari and Singh.
There were possibilities for resumption of bilateral talks after the Indian elections and the meeting between the two leaders was a step forward, he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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