Nuclear armed rivals India and Pakistan vowed to cooperate in the fight against terror in the wake of the devastating Mumbai attacks, leaders of both nations said after rare talks on Thursday. “Both leaders affirmed their resolve to fight terrorism and cooperate with each other to this end,” said a joint statement after the meeting here between Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh. It was only the second top-level meeting between the nuclear armed neighbors since the November attacks in the Indian commercial capital of Mumbai which cost 166 lives, and raised hopes of a resumption of peace talks. “Prime Minister Singh reiterated the need to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice and Prime Minister Gilani assured that Pakistan will do everything in its power in this regard.” The statement described terrorism as the main threat to both countries but said: “Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.” The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned summit in this Red Sea resort, where more than 50 heads of state of developing nations gathered with the world economic crisis topping the agenda. Relations between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars, deteriorated sharply after the Mumbai bombings which New Delhi blamed on the banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Pakistan has said that it would probably put the five accused of involvement in the attacks on trial this week, including the alleged mastermind Zakiduddin Lakhvi. Thursday's encounter was the first top-level meeting since Singh met Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on the sidelines of a summit in Russia last month. “There has recently been some forward movement in our relations with India,” Gilani said on Wednesday. “We hope to sustain this momentum and move towards comprehensive engagement. We believe durable peace in South Asia is achievable.” The Mumbai siege left in tatters a fragile peace process launched in 2004 to resolve all outstanding issues of conflict, including a territorial dispute over the divided Himalayan territory of Kashmir. Peace “will be facilitated by the resolution of all outstanding disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir,” Gilani said.
