On board the Prime Minister’s aircraft, Nov. 12: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said another 26/11-type attack would setback the “process of normalisation” with Pakistan but added that he believed the neighbour’s armed forces were “on board” the drive towards peace.

Hopes of a “new chapter” in bilateral ties were, however, tempered by cautious optimism as Singh made it clear he wasn’t putting “blind faith” in the Pakistani leadership.

India, he said, would adopt a “trust but verify” approach when the two sides resume their composite dialogue, stalled since the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai.

Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, who met on the sidelines of the Saarc summit in the Maldives, had on Thursday agreed to restart the dialogue.

“So, I come back with the expectation that the second round of resumed dialogue, which will begin very shortly, will have the advantage of a more informed dialogue,” he said on his way back home before sounding the note of caution.

“India-Pakistan relations are subject to accidents and, therefore, we both recognise that if there is another incident like the Mumbai terror attack, that could give a big setback to the process of normalisation, I think that is fully understood by Prime Minister Gilani.”

Singh, who has been invited by Gilani to visit Pakistan, said he would go only if Islamabad took concrete steps against those involved in plotting the 26/11 siege, but explained why he was optimistic about the peace drive.

“I would not like to go into the details of this matter. But when I did discuss with the Pakistan Prime Minister whether Pakistan’s armed forces were on board, the feeling I got after a long time was that Pakistan’s armed forces were on board,” he said.

Singh defended his description of Gilani as a “man of peace” and said in the four-five meetings he has had with him, the Pakistani leader had always agreed there was no way forward except for peaceful resolution of all problems.

“In fact, he (Gilani) has gone ahead and expressed his reservations that terrorism is a common enemy… (that) has not helped advance Pakistan’s cause,” Singh said.

“It is not that we are putting blind faith in one individual, however well meaning he may be,” he said, but added: “I think, in Gilani, Pakistan has a Prime Minister who is ready to work with us.”

Singh underlined the importance of normalising trade between the neighbours. “Trade liberalisation can be a big boost along with other CBMs (confidence-building measures) across the LoC (Line of Control) where lives of ordinary people can be improved,” he said.

As Singh stressed the need for better trade relations, Pakistan’s commerce secretary Zafar Mahmood arrived in New Delhi for trade talks.

Mahmood is scheduled to hold two-day talks with his Indian counterpart Rahul Khullar from Monday.