New Delhi - Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated on
Wednesday with New Delhi warning that it would 'act decisively' to
protect its citizens, saying the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks
that claimed 171 lives had come from Pakistan.
'The government of India is determined to act decisively to
protect the territorial integrity of India and the right of our
citizens to a peaceful life with all means at our disposal,' India's
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said at a joint press
conference with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in New Delhi.
Mukherjee in his discussions with Rice had informed her that was
'no doubt that the attacks were perpetrated by individuals who came
from Pakistan and whose controllers are in Pakistan'.
New Delhi has mounted pressure on Islamabad to act against
militant outfits operating on its territory after Indian security
agencies said the gunmen in the Mumbai attack belonged to Lashkar-e-
Taiba, an Islamic militant group based in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Rice called on Pakistan to take 'direct and tough
action' against the militants and said Islamabad had a 'special
responsibility' to cooperate in the investigations to get the
perpetrators of Mumbai to justice.
'Pakistan has to act transparently, fully and urgently,' Rice said
adding that that 'Americans understand the feelings and strong
demands' in India to capture the attackers.
Referring to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's contention in
an interview that the militants were stateless operators in the
region, Rice said: 'The fact is that sometimes non-state actors
operate from the confines of the state...They are still a matter of
your responsibility if it somehow relates to your territory.'
She said that President Zardari had given an assurance to
cooperate in the investigations and Washington expected that the
pledges would be fulfilled.
Rice's visit to India is part of Washington's diplomatic efforts
to ease tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours after the
Mumbai attacks. She was scheduled to visit Pakistan for a few hours
on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral
Michael Mullen, who was also visiting Pakistan, was to meet top
Indian defence officials on Thursday.
The US is concerned about the impact of tensions on the war on
terrorism. Pakistani officials had earlier warned that heightened
tensions with India could force Islamabad to withdraw troops from the
Afghan front to the borders with India.
Tensions are increasing each day. On Monday, India summoned the
Pakistan envoy to New Delhi, Shahid Malik and demanded action against
militant outfits on its soil that had targeted India.
Indian authorities also gave a list of 20 suspected fugitives to
Pakistani envoy in India demanding their repatriation. The list
included Masood Azhar, a leader of the Islamic militant Jaish-e-
Mohammed group, and Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed.
On Wednesday, United Progressive Alliance chairwoman Sonia Gandhi
said India's moves toward peace with Pakistan should not be construed
a weakness.
'We have taken several steps to have a friendly and brotherly
relationship with our neighbours. We are extending the hand of
friendship to our neighbours, but that should not be considered as
our weakness'.
'We will never bow before terrorism. We will give a befitting
reply,' she told an election rally in India-administered Kashmir.
Zardari in an interview with CNN meanwhile denied Pakistan's
involvement in the attacks and refused to extradite 20 suspects
identified in India's list, saying they would be tried in Pakistan if
New Delhi provided hard evidence.
In a related development on Wednesday, UN Secretary General Ban
ki-moon made a telephone call to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and underscored the need for 'full cooperation' by all to ensure
those behind the attack were caught.
Ban expressed determination to provide a lead role for the UN in
dealing with the global menace of terrorism, while commending the
courage and resilience shown by government and people of India.
According to Indian police, 171 people were killed and more than
300 injured as the terrorists fired automatic weapons and lobbed
grenades in chosen locations across south Mumbai, including two posh
hotels, the city's main railway station and a Jewish centre in the
attacks beginning Wednesday night.
At least 28 foreigners were killed in the multiple strikes in
Mumbai that continued till Saturday when Indian forces shot dead
three militants in a hotel. One of the gunmen was captured alive and
was identified to be belonging to the Pakistani province of Punjab.
The police which had put the toll initially at 188, revised the
figure saying there was some duplication in counting bodies.
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