Let terror not spoil Havana gains: Anand Sharma

Highlighting the conducive environment created by the recent Havana meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf for the resolution of bilateral issues, India has expressed hope that the atmosphere would not be spoilt now by any incidents like a terrorist attack.

In an address to the Asia Society here last night, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma recalled the previous occasions when major terrorist attackes set back the attempts to resolve issues, and put the Indo-Pak ties on an even keel at a time when efforts were proceeding smoothly.

Noting that the recent Mumbai blasts was a case in point, he said without blaming anyone that such incidents cannot be ignored when dozens die or are maimed for life. In this context, he also stressed the need for international cooperation to fight terrorism.

He said the Singh-Musharraf meeting in Havana last week created a conducive environment for the resolution of bilateral issues, and hoped that nothing, like a terrorist incident, would spoil the atmosphere.

Sharma, who is here for the United Nations General Assembly session, expressed confidence that the civilian nuclear deal between the US and India, now pending before the American Congress, would go through. "It is in the interest of both India and the US, the two major democracies, who now are no longer on a collision course," he said. (PTI)