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Krishna and team was briefed on Headley

July 22, 2010 18:49 IST

Home Minister P Chidambaram had briefed the Cabinet Committee on Security, where External Affairs Minister S M Krishna was present, on the interrogation report of LeT operative David Headley before visiting Pakistan for the SAARC Interior Minister's conference last month.

Government sources said contrary to reports that the home ministry did not keep the External Affairs Ministry in the loop about the Headley interrogation the details were shared in a meeting of the CCS.

Krishna was present in the meeting and copies of the interrogation report were sent to all concerned, including NSA Shivshankar Menon.

Besides, the sources said, India's High Commissioner to Pakistan and a "note taker" from Islamabad mission were present in all but one meetings that Indian delegation had with Pakistan when Chidambaram visited that country last month.

"Except the one-on-one meeting between Home Minister Chidambaram and Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik, in all the other meetings the High Commissioner and a 'note taker' from the mission were present. So they are privy to all information that the delegation discussed with Pakistan," the sources said.

They said last week's foreign minister-level talks between India and Pakistan was heading nowhere as the Pakistan Army did not want them to succeed.

Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi were said to have made good progress during their first session of talks which started at 11 am and lasted for nearly five hours, well beyond the schedule. The two also had a working lunch.

Krishna's schedule was to leave call on Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani before his meeting with  President Asif Ali Zardari at the Presidential palace.

Just 15 minutes prior to his departure, Krishna was informed that the order has been reversed and the call on Zardari will precede.

Meanwhile,  Pakistan's powerful army Chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani met the Prime Minister during the time Krishna was to called on Gilani.

However, when the talks resumed after Krishna's two call-ons, the atmosphere totally changed and Pakistan took a strident posture leading to the deadlock at the talks.

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