Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says 'proper' atmosphere needed for his Pakistan visit

ON BOARD PM'S SPECIAL AIRCRAFT: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said he was keen to visit Pakistan but for this a "proper atmosphere" has to be created and a "crucial test" for Islamabad is to bring to book the perpetrators of the heinous Mumbai attack.

"I am very keen to visit Pakistan and I am grateful for the invitation. But I also mentioned to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari that we have to create a proper atmosphere," he told reporters accompanying him on his way back home from Tehran.

His remarks came a day after he met President Zardari on the sidelines of the NAM Summit in the Iranian capital during which he pushed Pakistan to act against India-directed terrorism and said that expeditious conclusion of the Mumbai terror attack trial in that country will be a "major" Confidence Building Measure in bilateral relations.

Zardari also renewed his invitation to Singh to visit Pakistan.

During his on board interaction, the Prime Minister, who responded to a range of questions, said there has to be a "genuine feeling" that Pakistan was doing its best to stop terror acts against India from its soil.

"There must be a genuine feeling that Pakistan is doing all that it could do to deal with terrorism directed against India from Pakistani soil. And in this context the trial of those charged with the heinous crime of Mumbai massacre was a crucial test for the Pakistani society to bring to book the perpetrators."