Not putting blind faith in Gilani: Manmohan

Mtoday news / PTI

On Board Air India One, Nov. 12: Asserting that he is not putting "blinding faith" in his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani for pushing bilateral dialogue, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said Pakistan’s armed forces were "on board" on the peace process.

He said India wanted to strengthen the hands of the civilian government in Pakistan and that Gilani, whom he met in Male on Thursday, has "clearly understood" that one more Mumbai-like attack would be a big setback to the peace process.

 

 

The Indo-Pak peace process, the resumed dialogue of which is going to take place shortly, was subject to accidents, Singh said while answering a wide range of questions from journalists on board his special flight while returning from Maldives.

He said his visit to Pakistan would take place only when the neighbour took solid steps against the Mumbai terror attack accused in that country.

"I would not like to go into the details of this matter. But when I did discuss with Pakistan Prime Minister whether Pakistan’s armed forces were on board, the feeling I got after a long time was that Pakistan’s armed forces were on board," he said in reply to a question on Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s claim that army was on board the peace initiatives with India.