New foreign minister soon: PM

India will have a new foreign minister "soon after September 18" when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh returns from his tour of Brazil and Cuba. This will not be part of a bigger Cabinet reshuffle.

Speaking on board the special aircraft bound for Brazil to attend the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) meeting and later the summit meeting of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) in Cuba, Singh made some penetrating observations, both about domestic and foreign policy.

He drew Pakistan into the ambit of terrorism and conceded that not just India but also Pakistan was a victim of terrorism and that groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba don't always act at Pakistan's instructions, they also act autonomously. But, he said, Pakistan was not doing enough to control terrorism although

India had given it "substantial proof" of the activities of these groups.

He added India and Pakistan had to work together "in a manner that inspires confidence" that the two nations were serious about tackling terrorism. When he met Musharraf in Cuba, he said, he would provide him with India's perception of the role of external elements promoting terrorism in India.

Singh clearly sounded the note he wanted to strike in his meeting with Musharraf when he said, "Full development potential of the subcontinent cannot be realized unless there is reconciliation between India and Pakistan."

Singh said there was need to beef up intelligence gathering both by the Centre and state, not just before an event but also after the event.

"There is a problem. I do not deny that. We are doing the best we can. But there is considerable scope for improvement particularly in strengthening our intelligence gathering at the grassroots level," Singh said.