Transcript of Press Briefing by the Official Spokesperson

The Spokesperson informed the media that there were no press releases or announcements and called for questions, in response to which she said the following.

• Asked to comment on reports about the Ministry of External Affairs having "advised” the staff of Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, not to speak to the press, the Spokesperson said that such reports were absolutely baseless.
• Asked whether General Fahim, Defence Minister of Afghanistan was coming to India in the flight returning to Delhi, the Spokesperson said that she had no information whatsoever to substantiate such media reports which did not appear to be based on fact.
• Asked whether the bodies of the five terrorists killed in Parliament House would be returned to Pakistan, since they had been identified as Pakistan nationals, the Spokesperson said that there were no indications to this effect, and added that she did not believe that this would be the next step. She said that those five persons were not unsung heroes but terrorists and criminals who had attacked the heart of our democracy and India.
• Asked if there was any information about which part of Pakistan these terrorists belonged to, the Spokesperson said that there was no information and added that it made no difference anyhow to the centrality of the discourse which concerned terrorism and nothing else.
• The Spokesperson informed the media that the US Special Envoy to Afghanistan, Mr. James Dobbins was presently in Delhi and that he had met the Foreign Secretary, Mrs. Chokila Iyer, the Indian Special Envoy to Afghanistan, Mr. S.K. Lambah, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Mr. Brajesh Mishra today, and would be meeting the External Affairs Minister, Shri Jaswant Singh later this evening.
• She said that the Indian side had interacted with Mr. Dobbins at the Bonn meeting and that recently he had visited Pakistan and was in Kabul for the reopening of the US Embassy there. She said that the talks between the US Special Envoy and the Indian officials had focussed on developments in Afghanistan, post Bonn. Both sides expressed satisfaction at the stabilisation of the situation in Afghanistan and the combined efforts of India and the US in helping the process of rebuilding in Afghanistan. She also mentioned that the Afghan Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullah Abdullah had returned to Kabul this morning from New Delhi.
• Asked whether EAM would be visiting Kabul on 22nd December, the Spokesperson said that there was as yet in this regard. - Asked to comment on the Pakistani Foreign Minister’s suggestion for India to take up the matter regarding the terrorist attack on Parliament with the UN Security Council, the Spokesperson said that India does not need prescriptions from Pakistan. India is a sovereign country and would decide on the steps to be taken, based on our considered assessment of the situation. She recalled that EAM had clearly stated to the members of the media, on Friday, the 14th December that India would take action against terrorism in accordance with its international obligations and its commitment to fighting this scourge.

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