NEW DELHI, Oct 4: Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has said that his Havana agreement with President Gen Pervez Musharraf offered a chance to both countries to test a potentially effective anti-terror mechanism and the Mumbai blasts case would make a good beginning.

“Pakistan will have to walk the talk,” Dr Singh was quoted by Indian newspapers on Wednesday as saying while returning from South Africa.

“We have set up this mechanism. How else can we ask for information except through a mechanism like this?” Dr Singh said in response to a question on the Mumbai trains blasts in July.

“We have evidence that we will offer Pakistan, we will discuss with Pakistan on the basis of that evidence. We will test the waters …,” he said.

Apparently shrugging off criticism of the Havana agreement by India’s rightwing opposition groups, Dr Singh said that Pakistan had condemned the blasts.

“In our joint statement, there is an explicit condemnation of the Mumbai blasts, following that there is also mention of cooperation that our two countries will undertake to control this menace. We will share that information with Pakistan and ascertain how sincere they are in carrying forward the commitment that I and President Musharraf have underlined in our joint statement,” he said.

Dr Singh cautioned against prejudging the anti-terror mechanism. “The mechanism is yet to take off, we have to test it, and we will test it.”

On the nuclear deal with the United States, he said there was always a built-in ‘uncertainty’ insofar as ‘we have no control over the legislative process in the United States.”

The Mumbai police said on Saturday that they had found evidence linking the July 11 serial bombings in Mumbai commuter trains to the Lashkar-i-Taiba and Jaish-i-Mohammad, and accused the ISI of involvement in the attacks, which left nearly 200 rush-hour commuters dead and several hundreds injured.

Opinion

Editorial

Sustainable path?
Updated 13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

The FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth.
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...
A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...