26/11, Jundal's role to dominate Indo-Pak talks

Terrorism and 26/11 Mumbai attacks will dominate the two-day Foreign Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan, which started at New Delhi's Hyderabad House on Wednesday.

Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai will forcefully raise the role of Pakistani state agencies in helping terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba carry out the November 2008 attack on Mumbai. Mathai will also focus on several other issues, including nuclear confidence building measures and India's demand to free Sarabjit Singh during his interaction with Pakistani Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani.

India is expected to up the ante against Pakistan on 26/11 and Lashkar-e-Toiba operative Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal's confessions will be handed over to the Pakistani Foreign Secretary.

Official sources say India is building up a strong case against Jundal and his link with Pakistani agencies. New Delhi does not want Islamabad to clean up the evidence at its end as it did in the case of Mumbai attacker Ajmal Amir Kasab. So India will wait till the investigating agencies complete the grilling of Jundal and then give the proof. Jundal's role in 26/11 will, however, be verbally raised during the talks between Mathai and Jilani.

Jundal's confessions are high on agenda and India will push for intervention by handing over copies of Jundal's Pakistani passport and his ID - direct proof that he had state help in Pakistan.

India will also renew its demand for voice samples of the other 26/11 accused that could bolster Jundal's testimony and will also push for action against Mumbai carnage suspected mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

Jundal's place of residence in the Pakistani passport has been listed as Muridke, which is near Lahore. Muridke is also the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Toiba and it front organisation, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa.