Ahead of External Affairs Minister SM Krishna's visit to Islamabad next month, India yesterday decided to step up consultations between its foreign and home ministries to compile evidence on the alleged Pakistan-origin of the morphed images of Assam violence.
Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai met Krishna and briefed him about the alleged role of Pakistan-based elements in using morphed images on the Internet that triggered an exodus of northeastern people from other states.
It was decided that the external affairs ministry would await inputs from the home ministry before deciding on how to take up the issue with Pakistan, said the sources.
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Krishna goes to Islamabad on a three-day visit on September 7 for talks with his counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar that will focus on reviewing the second round of dialogue that was revived early last year following a hiatus after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
Krishna is likely to take up the issue of morphed pictures as such incidents show that elements engaged in anti-India propaganda continue to be active in Pakistan, sources said.
Thousands of people from the northeast fled Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu last week after hate messages were spread threatening retaliation for the ethnic violence in Assam.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said elements based in Pakistan used social networking websites to circulate morphed pictures to whip up communal tension in India. u00a0
250 sites blocked
The government yesterday blocked over 250 websites for uploading doctored videos and pictures.u00a0The sites were found to be containing hostile propaganda and rumours that sought to incite violence targetting the people from northeast and to whip up panic among them.u00a0
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