India wants "terrorism infrastructure" dismantled

By Rina Chandran

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday "the infrastructure of terrorism" must be dismantled, remarks clearly directed at rival Pakistan.

Singh is to meet Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Thursday on the sidelines of a summit in Egypt of the Non-Aligned Movement, the latest high-level bilateral talks between the two nations that are aimed at defusing tension.

New Delhi has long called on Pakistan to disarm Pakistan-based militant groups, including one it blames for last year's attack on Mumbai, although Singh did not mention Islamabad in his address.

"The infrastructure of terrorism must be dismantled and there should be no safe haven for terrorists because they do not represent any cause, group or religion," Singh said in his speech in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

"Terrorists and those who aid and abet them must be brought to justice," he told presidents and others top officials from the 118-member Non-Aligned Movement.

The two states' foreign secretaries, India's Shivshankar Menon and Pakistan's Salman Bashir, met late on Tuesday.

"They had good, detailed discussions," said one source with knowledge of the talks.

Thursday's meeting will be the third high-level meeting between the two countries since last year's Mumbai attacks derailed any rapprochement, which could improve stability across the region as far as Afghanistan.