India, Pakistan reiterate commitment to fight terror

NEW DELHI - The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan wrapped up their two-day engagement on Thursday by reiterating their commitment to fight terror, reported local daily The Hindu on Friday.

The two sides also said that another meeting between the Foreign Secretaries will set the tone for the ministerial meeting in Islamabad in September.

Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told the media Thursday that the arrest of an Indian national linked with the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Abu Jundal, "had added urgency to the need for Pakistan to act against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks", according to the newspaper.

"I emphasized that terrorism was the biggest threat to peace and security in the region and bringing the guilty in the Mumbai attacks to justice would be the biggest confidence building measure of all," he was quoted as saying.

"We will continue to pursue this matter with determination to its logical conclusion," he added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani "very strongly" rejected "any insinuation of any involvement of any state agency in any acts of terrorism in India".

He wanted India to share all evidence gathered so far with Pakistan and promised to investigate the matter, saying that Pakistan was open to "a joint investigation" into the entire incident.