Pak agrees to probe attack on Indian Embassy

COLOMBO: Pakistan on Saturday agreed to probe the attack on Indian Embassy in Kabul after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave a blunt message to his counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani that the incident along with ceasefire violations and rising infiltration had created "difficulties" in bilateral ties.

Raising the issue in a "very frank and candid" manner during his first meeting with Gilani here , Singh said the concerns of India over these incidents had to be addressed to allow the relationship to come "back on track" of improvement.

"The Prime Minister (Singh) was relatively frank in expressing his concerns about recent incidents which have had an impact on the relationship and the prospects of the dialogue," Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told reporters after the meeting on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit.

While talking about the "recent incidents", Singh specifically told Gilani about the July 7 Kabul Embassy attack regarding which there is evidence of involvement of Pakistan's ISI. Singh also referred to violation of ceasefire by Pakistani forces and increased infiltration across the LoC.

Responding to Singh's concerns, Gilani said he would conduct an "independent investigation" into the Kabul attack, Menon said.