3334 PAKISTANI PRESIDENT S VISIT TO INDIA

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:-

(a) whether Pakistani President visited India recently;

(b) if so, the details of the issues discussed by the Prime Minister of India with him; and

(c) the progress made during the discussion on bilateral issues including terrorism and trade?

ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRIMATI PRENEET KAUR)

(a) to (c) President of Pakistan, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari came to India on a private visit on April 8, 2012. During the visit, a meeting was held in New Delhi between Prime Minister and the President of Pakistan. The two leaders had a friendly and constructive conversation covering all aspects of India-Pakistan bilateral relations, and regional and global issues of common interest. It was noted that there had been steady progress in the dialogue process which was restarted last year. Prime Minister expressed appreciation of the fact that Pakistan has moved forward on trade-related issues and both leaders felt that we should tap into the considerable potential of bilateral economic and trade ties. The issue of terrorism was discussed during the meeting. Prime Minister told President Zardari that there is need for taking firm action to curb terrorism to enable us to make forward movement in the bilateral relationship. He conveyed that it was imperative to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack to justice, and prevent activities aimed against India from Pakistani soil. In this context, he also mentioned the activities of Hafiz Saeed carried out in public. It would be evident that our concerns on terrorism had to be addressed if the people of India are to support and sustain progress in bilateral relations. President Zardari referred to judicial processes against Saeed and said the matter needed to be discussed further between the two Governments.