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Singh to outline Pakistan stand Indian PM defends Pakistan talks
(about 9 hours later)
Indian PM Manmohan Singh is due to make a statement clarifying the government's stand on peace talks with Pakistan. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said his country had no choice but to hold peace talks with Pakistan.
The move comes a fortnight after a joint statement issued by the two neighbours created confusion. He said the alternative was to go to war which was not in anyone's interest.
The statement had said they would fight terrorism without linking such co-operation to wider peace talks. Speaking in parliament, Mr Singh said he believed that Islamabad had made some progress in its investigation into last year's Mumbai attacks.
But after the joint statement Mr Singh said India would not start peace talks with Pakistan until the Mumbai attacks suspects are brought to justice. The leaders of the two countries met recently in Egypt and agreed to restart talks, but the move was heavily criticised in India.
The joint statement was issued after Mr Singh met his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Egypt. 'Harsh reality'
It said action on terrorism "should not be linked to the composite dialogue process" - which includes talks on the disputed territory of Kashmir. "I say with strength and conviction that dialogue is the best way forward," Mr Singh said on Wednesday.
Correspondents say many in India have seen the joint statement as a major climb-down in Delhi's stance. I told him [Geelani] we had no interest in destabilising Pakistan Indian PM Manmohan Singh
The document also mentioned the situation in Balochistan, raising concerns in India that it implied the country's "meddling" in the internal affairs of Pakistan. "The harsh reality of the modern world power structure is that when it comes to matters of our own self interestÂ… we have to help ourselves. Self-help is the best help."
'Altering foreign policy' The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says a joint statement issued after the meeting between Mr Singh and his Pakistani counterpart, Yousuf Raza Gilani, in Egypt two weeks ago had led to a major political fallout in India.
Pakistan also provided an updated status dossier on the investigations of last November's Mumbai (Bombay) attacks, in which militants killed more than 160 people. It was decried by opposition leaders as a climb-down from India's demand that a resumption of talks should be linked to Pakistan acting against the planners of the Mumbai attacks.
On Tuesday, 146 Indian opposition MPs met President Pratibha Patil and accused the government of altering the "fundamental foundations of India's foreign policy and strategic interests". Our correspondent says the government appeared to backtrack from the statement after it realised it would not go down well in India.
The Indian Express newspaper said that Mr Singh in his statement in the parliament on Wednesday is "expected to make it clear that there will be no composite dialogue until Pakistan takes more concrete measures on terrorism directed from its soil against India". Mr Singh later said India would not restart peace talks with Pakistan until the suspects were brought to justice.
"To that extent, India feels that Pakistan's 36-page dossier on the progress of the investigations is a 'step forward' but more needs to be done," the newspaper said. The Mumbai attacks led to a freeze in ties between the two countries
Peace talks between the two neighbours were suspended after the Mumbai attacks. The opposition BJP said the statement had been poorly drafted and blamed Mr Singh.
India says the gunmen were from Pakistan and has accused the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba of being behind the attacks. In particular, a reference in the statement to the situation in the Pakistani province of Balochistan raised eyebrows, with many saying it implied that India was fomenting trouble there.
Pakistan has admitted they were partly planned on its soil - and vowed to do all it can to bring the suspects to justice. In parliament Mr Singh said he had reassured Mr Gilani that India "had no interest in destabilising Pakistan" in connection with events in Balochistan.
The prime minister said India had nothing to hide and therefore was not afraid of discussing any issue of concern between both countries.
Referring to a dossier handed over by Pakistan relating to its investigation into the Mumbai attack, Mr Singh said it was the first time any Pakistani government had accepted that a group based in its country had carried out an attack in India.
He added it was also the first time Islamabad had briefed Delhi in connection with an attack on its soil.
Mr Singh said there was no option but to engage with Pakistan. He also said that while the present Pakistani leadership might not be very strong it understood the need to defeat terrorism.
Peace talks between the two neighbours were suspended after November's Mumbai attacks, in which 170 people were killed, nine of them gunmen.
India has accused the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba of being behind the attacks.
Pakistan has vowed to do all it can to bring the suspects to justice.