NEW DELHI, July 10: India’s peace process with Pakistan would continue despite the attempted assault on a controversial Hindu shrine in Ayodhya, Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil said in Srinagar on Sunday.
He was quoted by Press Trust of India as also saying that India’s invitation to the All Parties Hurriyat Conference to hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh remained valid but there would be no fresh reminders in this respect.
“We have invited all representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for talks and no fresh invitation will be extended to the Hurriyat,” Mr Patil was quoted as saying after presiding over a meeting to review the security situation, specially for the Amarnath Hindu pilgrimage. “We are ready to talk to anyone. Need I say more,” he added.
He said: “The peace process between India and Pakistan would continue despite the terrorist attack in Ayodhya as both countries wanted peace.”
Without identifying anyone, Mr Patil said there were elements who wanted to derail the peace process but they were very few. The majority in both countries wanted peace, he added.
Even as he spoke in Srinagar, Indian sleuths were groping in the dark for clues to the assault on the Hindu shrine in Ayodhya last week.
Press Trust of India said the alleged terrorists may have been Arabic-speaking persons who entered India possibly via Nepal.
“Questioning of the driver Raj Kumar, who brought the five attackers from Akbarpur to Ayodhya, indicated the militants spoke with each other in Arabic,” PTI said quoting unidentified sources.
The driver indicated the terrorists did not speak in Kashmiri, it said. The sources said the identification of the terrorists was turning out to be difficult as no clear evidence was available from what was recovered from them.
