India, Pak Foreign Ministers spar over Mumbai probe

Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan have sparred over the 26/11 probe with Shah Mahmood Qureshi accusing New Delhi of non-cooperation, prompting SM Krishna to ask the "people who are sitting in the epicentre of terror" to introspect before making such allegations.

"I have had a meeting with SM Krishna in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (in September 2009). I gave him a very crisp proposal, a roadmap for the future. He said he will get back to me but he has not got back to me. That means he has nothing to offer," Qureshi said.

"It seems that the Indian polity is divided, India is confused," he told reporters here on the sidelines of an international conference on Afghanistan.

Coming face-to-face at the meet hosted by British Premier Gordon Brown, Krishna and Qureshi yesterday shook hands and exchanged pleasantries but did not have a separate meeting.

"India does not know whether it should engage or it should shy away," Qureshi said.

"Unfortunately, there is a dichotomy here. What's going on right now is, the public stance of the Indian foreign office is different. On another hand, the private stance is different.

"The private stance is that Pakistan's cooperation has been unprecedented. They acknowledge the exchange of dossiers, the exchange of information that we have had... There is a lack of political agreement in India on foreign policy (towards Pakistan).

Responding to Qureshi's charges, Krishna said Pakistan should introspect before making such statements.