In an interview to CNN-IBN, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid admitted that India expected Pakistan to initiate an investigation into the killing and beheading of an Indian soldier at the Line of Control. Here are some excerpts:
On both sides deciding to defuse the tension:
"I think this is clearly a positive step. What India has maintained is that this is a problem and we have to resolve it amongst ourselves. We can't be hoping and working towards somebody stepping in to solve our problems. But having said that, it's not just one response that works, you have to take a whole structure with you. This is something we will look at very carefully. We will see what the next step can be."
Investigation into the beheading of an Indian soldier:
"We will obviously stand by the content and substance of what we believe is critical and crucial to what went wrong. Therefore, addressing that will be a move towards putting it right. But you can remove words and phrases that have been thrown around by various people, not necessarily by the government, and those phrases can create a different impression. The content and substance of what we believe is our duty to expect and demand. What's important is to return to a state of normalcy."
On the Pakistan Army's stand on reducing tension at LoC:
"It's a very positive development. I think it should have come earlier. But this is something that is within the domain of the armed forced of both sides. The signs we have from Wednesday are good signs and welcome signs. When something good happens, you should encourage it by appreciating it."
On granting visas to Pakistan's women cricket players:
"I don't think we have done anything that is exclusively negative. But the atmospherics play their own role. If the situation normalises and it's peaceful, many such questions will disappear by themselves."
On the forthcoming meeting of India and Pakistan's commerce ministers:
"I don't have any information about the meeting of commerce ministers being called off."
