Pakistan should come forward for talks: Farooq Abdullah

JAMMU: Commenting on the current scenario in Pakistan, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah has said that Islamabad should come forth for dialogue on all bilateral issues, including the Kashmir imbroglio.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here, Abdullah said: "I just hope that they (Pakistan) will come forward to talk to India. We have always said that we are ready to talk even on Kashmir and we hope that that the government (in Islamabad) will try and see to the sentiments of the people of this nation also and try and see that those who are the perpetrators of the Mumbai blast are brought to books."

He also noted that the Indian Government has brought to book the perpetrators of the Samjhauta Express blast and they should be punished since India means serious business vis-à-vis law as such even Pakistan too must act on the planners and executors of the 26/11 attack on Mumbai.

"We are going to nail the people who have done Samjhauta Express blast, there is no doubt about it. India means business, India has investigated, India is already at it but we are sorry that on the other side we don't see the same amount of movements towards the Mumbai blasts. People who have done that to be brought to the trial," he added.

Sixty-eight people were killed when bombs were set off in two coaches of cross-country Samjhauta Express, running between Delhi and Lahore, around midnight on February 18, 2007 at Diwana near Panipat, 80 kilometres north of Delhi.