India will be kept informed: Downer

Downer: We owe it to the Indians to keep them informed as to what is going on.

Pranab: pretty well-informed about the facts

By P.S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: Acknowledging India’s “natural concern” in the Haneef case, Australia’s Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on Friday said, “We [Australians] owe it to the Indians to keep them informed as to what is going on.”

Referring to the telephonic conversation between him and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday, he said Canberra would certainly continue to keep New Delhi posted on the developments in the case.
Terror prisoner

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Brisbane-based Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef, now in a solitary cell as a “terror prisoner,” awaits the Federal Court hearing on August 8 on his appeal against the revocation of his work visa. A committal hearing before a Magistrate’s Court will then follow on charges linking him to the recent terror plots in London and Glasgow.
Degree of engagement

In comments, full transcript of which was made available to The Hindu by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr. Downer did not categorically indicate whether Australia would fully engage India on the case by goi ng beyond informing India on the course of relevant events.

It was a “good and a positive conversation,” Mr. Downer said on the Thursday’s telephonic talk: “The Indians are naturally concerned about one of their own citizens, as we would be in their situation if it were an Australian involved in India.”

While noting that the case had become “quite a big issue” in the media in both Australia and India, he said Mr. Mukherjee “was pretty well-informed about the facts” in focus.
Substantive talks

It is independently understood, without reference to these comments by Mr. Downer, that the two leaders had “a substantive and businesslike conversation.”

Mr. Downer emphasised that Australia and India had agreed to “accelerate” the ongoing negotiations to clinch not only a mutual legal assistance pact, as indicated in New Delhi on Thursday, but also an extradition treaty.
-The Hindu (July 21, 2007)

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Neeraj Nanda

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