New delhi, February 02: Maintaining that no decision had yet been taken on whether he would visit Pakistan for the SAARC Interior Ministers’ Conference, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday said bilateral talks with Pakistan may happen if he were to go to Islamabad and an opportunity presented itself.
“I presume if I go to Pakistan, I presume we will hold bilateral talks if there is an opportunity. But remember SAARC is a multilateral forum,” Chidambaram said after presenting the monthly report card of his Ministry.
The SAARC conference begins on February 20 and there are indications that Chidambaram may attend. If he does make the trip, it will be the first visit by an Union Minister to Pakistan since Pranab Mukherjee’s May 2008 visit in his capacity as the then External Affairs Minister.
Asked about a report in The Hindu on investigators zeroing-in on an Indian handler in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Chidambaram said he could neither confirm nor deny the assertion.
On the Shiv Sena threat of not letting Australian and Pakistani players participate in the IPL cricket tournament, he said: “Let Australian players come to India. Let Pakistani players come to India. Let them play in Mumbai and I will guarantee them full security.” He said the Maharashtra government was “competent to manage the situation” but the Centre was ready to advise if asked to.
He sought to play down the latest US advisory on travel to India saying it was a “routine advisory issued from time to time” and was not based on any new information. “They have issued it in the past also.
—-Agencies