NEW DELHI: Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee appeared to row back on Friday on his comments that New Delhi could drop its demand for extradition of terror suspects it believes are holed up in Pakistan if Islamabad brings them to justice in a transparent trial.

In response to a question about his comments made on Thursday, Mr Mukherjee said: “We have never given up the demand that perpetrators of terror acts should be extradited to India. There is no question of that or climb down.”

Pakistani officials said they were not perturbed by the fresh comments, saying they understood Mr Mukherjee’s compulsions for making them.

Mr Mukherjee said on Friday that major terrorist acts had been committed in India and these were planned and launched from Pakistan.

“Only full investigations which are transparent and verifiable in

Pakistan can unveil the full conspiracy. We have been requesting

Pakistan to take sincere and effective steps in that direction. Pakistan is obliged to investigate and prosecute the criminals. It is Pakistan’s responsibility that individuals based in Pakistan do not commit criminal acts in other countries and then have effective immunity simply because they are Pakistani nationals.”

Mr Mukherjee said that “dastardly terror crimes” had been committed in India. “Therefore the perpetrators must face Indian justice. This is not an either or situation as these things are not mutually exclusive.”

Pakistan’s Extradition Act of 1972 specifically provides for extradition even when there is no bilateral extradition treaty between the countries, he added. “The Saarc Convention on Terrorism also has the same intent and such provisions are there in other international instruments. So I think the position is quite clear and there is no question of dilution in position.”

Mr Mukherjee’s compulsion to clarify his own comments to an Indian magazine could be linked to two issues. He does not want to appear to follow an idea originally prescribed by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, and he does not wish to be seen as a weak interlocutor before India’s rightwing nationalist opposition in an election year.