There are no good or bad terrorists: Pakistan

There are no good or bad terrorists and Pakistan does not choose among them, the country’s Foreign Minister has said.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi was speaking to Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s Chief International Correspondent, when he said that Pakistan wants to solve “issue” with India amicably.

Amanpour asked Qureshi if was Pakistan reluctant to take action against the leadership of the Afghan insurgency.

“No, we are not--we are not being choosy. We feel that terrorists are terrorists and there are no good or bad terrorists,” he replied. “We are committed to this fight to protect our country, to protect democracy and to protect the value system that we subscribe to.”

Qureshi said his country wants to resolve “outstanding issues” with India. “We as a government want good neighbourly relations with India (but) that does not mean we do not have issues with them. We do have outstanding issues and we want them resolved.”

Qureshi announced that Pakistan was considering appointing a special envoy for informal talks with India. “For back channel (talks), we are considering a very senior former diplomat--former foreign secretary, a gentleman called Riaz Mohammed Khan.”

Crucial talks

The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan on Saturday discussed the progress in investigations into the Mumbai terror attacks before a meeting between their Foreign Ministers on Sunday.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao met her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier in the day alleged Islamabad used terrorism as an instrument of state policy.

"India's message is that India seeks to normalise its relationship with Pakistan. But the only obstacle is that it should shed its old attitude of using terror as a state policy," Singh told a press conference winding up his two-day trip to Pittsburgh where he attended the G-20 Summit.

Rao and Bashir met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, marking the first high-level contact between the two countries since the Prime Ministers of the two countries met at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on July 16.

Rao and Bashir will report about their discussions to their foreign ministers S M Krishna and Qureshi, who will meet on Sunday.