KT NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, Feb 16: European Union (EU) on Monday said the Pakistani scientist A.
Khan's involvement in the nuclear proliferation was not an internal matter of Pakistan but an "international issue" in which "very many nationalities" were involved.
Talking to newspersons here after the India-EU Troika meeting, attended by Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Rudolf Bot and EU Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten, Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen said steps have to be taken to ensure that Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) do not reach wrong hands.
On EU's demand that India should sign the non- proliferation treaty, he said it was important to pursue a dialogue on it.
The India-EU meeting comes ahead of the 5th India-EU Summit to be held in the Netherlands in the second half of this year.
Welcoming India's readiness to commence the process of the composite dialogue with Pakistan, the Irish Foreign Minister offered "assistance" to accentuate the process of normalization and the resolution of Kashmir issue.
"We wish them well in these negotiations and remain willing to assist in any way required," said Cowen, who spoke on behalf of the EU.
At the joint press conference, Indian External Affairs Yashwant Sinha said there was no need of mediation by the European Union or any third party in the India-Pakistan affairs as both were moving ahead with an optimistic note.
"I am quite optimistic over the outcome of this round of talks (from today in Islamabad).
These are preliminary round of discussions on issues relating to the agenda, the level of talks and the time-frame in which the talks will be held," Sinha told reporters Observing that New Delhi was "grateful" to the EU for the offer to play a role in resolving Indo-Pak issues, he said it has been made clear that "as far as the role of EU or any third party is concerned, these are best resolved bilaterally between India and Pakistan".
Sinha said work has already been done in the past years on the dialogue and that it should not be a difficult task to reach a conclusion during the present round.
If some issues were left over during the discussions between the Indian delegation led by External Affairs Ministry Joint Secretary Arun Singh and the Pakistani side headed by Director General South Asia Jalil Abbas Jilani, Foreign Secretaries Shashank and Riaz Khokhar would meet on February 18 to resolve them, he said.
Sinha also briefed the EU leaders on the recent positive developments in Indo-Pak relations.
Issues relating to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and India-EU joint commitment to deliver effective multilateralism also figured in the parleys.
The two sides also discussed a number of regional issues including Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Myanmar," Cowen said, adding "I recognise that India has a crucial role in helping to address these regional issues and to use its influence." Sinha said he and the EU Troika exchanged views on the current trends in international terrorism and committed themselves to continue the fight against the menace.
"Establishment of India-EU Joint Working Group on Terrorism is a natural culmination of our common commitment in the fight against terrorism.
We are exploring taking this cooperation to a higher level through agency level interaction with Europol," he said.
The Minister said India-EU ties were characterised by mutual desire to impart strategic depth to contemporary ties in political, economic and technological fields for building a long-lasting multifaceted relationship.
