Menon holds talks with William Burns

New Delhi, June 10 (PTI) US Under Secretary of State
William Burns on Wednesday held talks with India's Foreign
Secretary Shivshankar Menon during which the latter is
understood to have conveyed India's disappointment over
Pakistan's inaction against perpetrators of Mumbai terror
attacks.

During the detailed discussions covering bilateral and
regional issues, the two sides are believed to have
deliberated on the possibility of resumption of Indo-Pak
dialogue that has been stalled since Mumbai attacks.

Menon is believed to have told Burns that India is not
averse to resuming dialogue with Pakistan but for that a
proper atmosphere will have to be created by Islamabad.

The Indian Foreign Secretary is understood to have
emphasised that talks cannot happen in an atmosphere of
violence and lingering fears of terror attacks emanating from
Pakistan.

Menon is also believed to have told Burns that India is
disappointed with Pakistan's inaction against those behind the
Mumbai attacks, which is highlighted by the release of
Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed.

Ahead of Burns's visit, State Department spokesman Ian
Kelly said in Washington, "We would support more dialogue
between the two countries.. I am sure that Under Secretary
Burns will talk about this issue among the many issues that he
has on his agenda."

India is convinced that Saeed was set free by the Lahore
High Court after six-month detention as the Pakistan
government did not file adequate charges against him.

New Delhi underlines that prosecution of Saeed, whose
outfit Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) has been banned by the UN
Security Council, is part of dismantling the terror
infrastructure existing in Pakistan.

India is not impressed by Pakistan's war against the
Taliban in Swat Valley and other areas as it maintains that
the groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, which
hurt India, have been left untouched in that campaign.

Menon and Burns, the first high-ranking US official to
travel here during the second tenure of Manmohan Singh
government, also discussed ways to take the strategic
relations forward.

In the defence sector, they deliberated on the proposed
bilateral 'End Users Agreement'.

Burns will also meet India's External Affairs Minister S
M Krishna and Home Minister P Chidambaram. PTI