Pakistan yet to take position on Kargil hero Capt Kalia

Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik was "a bit surprised" when the issue of torture of Kargil hero Capt Saurabh Kalia was raised by India, Pakistan High Commissioner Salman Bashir said on Tuesday, insisting that Islamabad is yet to take a position on the matter.

"I am not in a position to add or subtract any thing at this point... but I can say that this point was mentioned, the day before yesterday in the meeting taking place between the two ministers," Bashir said.

"There is no Pakistan position as yet.... The (Indian) minister had said, he (Malik) was taken by a little bit by surprise you know, but I will not comment on this matter at this point of time," he said.

Bashir was speaking to reporters at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries.

Captain Kalia of the 4 Jat Regiment along with other soldiers was captured by Pakistan and tortured during the Kargil conflict in May 1999. The mutilated bodies of Kalia and others were handed back to India after more than three weeks of their capture.

During the Indo-Pak home minister-level talks, India raised the issue of Kalia, even as Malik drew flak for his remarks that he was not aware whether the Indian officer "died of a Pak bullet or weather".

The Pakistani minister, who was on a three-day visit to India, however later said that he would look into the case.

Earlier in his speech, Bashir said that a "clarity of shared vision" was needed to develop relations between India and Pakistan which traditionally have had a complex ties. "Without a shared vision, we can easily go wrong," he said.

Bashir said the creation of "win-win situations" was in the interest of both India and Pakistan.