Manmohan Singh, Gilani meet in Egypt

The much-anticipated meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani began in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm-el-Sheikh Thursday amid expectations that a joint statement will be issued by the two sides.

The two leaders are accompanied by their delegations, including the foreign secretaries of the two nations.

Speaking to reporters last week on his way to New Delhi from the G8 summit in Italy, Manmohan Singh had said: "I am looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Gilani (in Egypt). I hope that out of that meeting renewed affirmation on part of Pakistan that it will bring perpetrators of the Mumbai massacre to justice and that Pakistan's territory will not be used for such activities. If that is done, we are willing to walk more than half the distance."

The interaction between Manmohan Singh and Gilani on the last day of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit here follows talks between Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and his Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir.

The two foreign secretaries had been mandated to discuss terrorism and what Pakistan was doing to prevent terror attacks from its soil against India and report back to their leaders. This decision was taken when Manmohan Singh met Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg last month.

"We had a good, detailed discussion. He described the situation as he saw it, I told him our concerns," Menon said about his meeting with Bashir.

Pakistan's dossier on the probe into the Nov 26 Mumbai attacks, presented to the Indian charge d'affairs in Islamabad Saturday night, contained the identities of five people who are under arrest. It also lists nine proclaimed offenders they are looking for, Menon disclosed.

The issue of the incarceration of Jamaat-ud-Daawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the alleged mastermind of the 26/11 attacks whose case is up for hearing in the Pakistani Supreme Court, was also discussed.

Both the Punjab and the federal governments had appealed against his release by the Lahore High Court in June. But the Punjab government has withdrawn its appeal on grounds that there was not enough evidence against him.

India was still looking for clarity on the issue, Menon said.

He stressed on "credible action" from Pakistan to bring the Mumbai perpetrators to book, and credible action to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism.

Asked if the Manmohan Singh-Gilani meeting would result in a joint statement, Menon told reporters late Wednesday: "Whether there is a joint statement or not, we'll let you know tomorrow."

However, in an interview to the Indian TV channel after his meeting with Menon Tuesday night, the Pakistani foreign secretary had said that a joint media appearance by Manmohan Singh and Gilani "would probably be unavoidable".

"The stakes here are too high just to link them to one or other issue. I think we are very clear on a lot of matters; we understand the Indian position that is centred on the issue of Mumbai and post Mumbai. We want to get past that," Bashir said in response to a question on Hafiz Saeed.