India replies to Pakistan queries on Mumbai attacks

New Delhi - In response to Pakistani queries, India on Friday provided written replies that a senior Indian minister said provided 'a solid basis' to punish perpetrators of November's Mumbai terrorist attacks. A set of 30 questions were raised by Pakistani investigators who studied India's dossier containing evidence linking the Pakistan- based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to the assault that left at least 170 people dead and over 300 injured. 'We have put together answers to the 30 questions. They are a comprehensive document and answer every question and are backed by documentary evidence,' Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said in New Delhi. 'If Pakistan is serious about investigating the origins of the horrific incidents in Mumbai, these answers provide a solid basis,' he said. 'We expect Pakistan to take the investigations forward, apprehend all the culprits, hand them over to India for prosecution, or prosecute and punish them in Pakistan,' Chidambaram said. The reply was later presented by India's External Affairs Ministry to Shahid Malik, the Pakistan High Commissioner to India. 'It is part of the process and will be helpful for the probe,' Malik said in brief comments to the reporters after receiving the document. News reports said the Indian response included forensic analysis, photographs of the terrorists and voice-intercepts of phone conversations between the terrorists and their 'handlers' in Pakistan during the attacks. Pakistan in February announced the arrest of six suspects in connection with the November 26-29 siege in India's financial capital, which Pakistan said were 'partially planned' on its soil. The detainees included Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, head of the LeT group. On March 8, top Pakistani Interior Ministry official Rehman Malik asked India to respond urgently to the queries forwarded by Pakistan after completing their initial probe. Rehman said Pakistani investigators were left with only 13 days of remand to hold four of the Mumbai attack suspects in their custody. Rehman's comments came in the backdrop of the request by global police agency Interpol for India to share DNA profiles obtained in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks so that these could be compared with genetic fingerprints provided by Pakistan.