India summons Pak envoy
India summoned a top Pakistani diplomat yesterday, two days after announcing resumption of foreign-secretary-level talks, to voice unhappiness over repeated delays in the trial of seven men accused in the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks.
"We asked them to ensure a mechanism whereby Indian diplomats in their country get regular briefings about the Mumbai terror trial and related investigations," a foreign ministry official told AFP.
The trial, which is being conducted by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court, has seen repeated postponements.
India blames the three-day rampage in November 2008 on the outlawed Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The attacks killed 166 people and strained further relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
"Pakistan's deputy high commissioner (ambassador) in New Delhi was summoned to the foreign ministry," said the official, who asked not to be identified.
The Indian deputy high commissioner in Islamabad lodged a similar protest at the Pakistan foreign office, the official also said.
The seven Pakistani suspects have been charged with planning and financing the attacks on India's financial capital.
The summoning of the Pakistani diplomat came days after the Indian foreign ministry said the foreign secretaries of both foreign secretaries would meet in Islamabad on August 25.
In a surprise move in May, India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited for his swearing-in ceremony his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif along with leaders of other SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) nations.
Modi's gesture spurred hopes about a resumption of peace talks between the neighbouring states whose relations have remained chilly since the terror attacks.
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