New Delhi - The Muslim militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)
has denied British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's accusation that the
outfit was responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attacks, a news
report said Monday.
The Pakistan-based LeT also said that Ajmal Kasab, the lone
attacker captured alive, was not a member of the organization, the
IANS news agency reported.
'The LeT rejects accusations by British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown. The LeT denied its involvement in the Mumbai attacks but the
British Prime Minister levelled an allegation against Lashkar which
has no proof,' a press release issued by LeT said, according to IANS.
'Instead of accepting the mistake of his country, Mr Brown blamed
a legitimate freedom-fighting organization. LeT condemns the approach
of the British Prime Minister and urges the media to stop the blame
game,' LeT spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi said in the communiqué.
On an unscheduled visit to India on Sunday, Brown backed India's
claims about LeT's involvement in the Mumbai attacks in which at
least 173 people, including nine terrorists, were killed.
'We know that there have been arrests in Pakistan and we also know
that the group responsible is the LeT and that they have a great deal
to answer for,' Brown told reporters when asked whether Pakistan was
doing enough to crack down on terrorist outfits operating against
India.
According to Indian officials, the LeT is one of the main Muslim
militant groups operating in Indian-administered Kashmir and is
headquartered in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
It has been fighting Indian forces with an aim to create an
Islamic state covering Pakistan and Kashmir.
Kashmir, a disputed region between India and neighbouring
Pakistan, has witnessed the deaths of more than 40,000 people -
civilians, militants and security forces - in secessionist violence
since 1990.
New Delhi has accused Islamabad of aiding and abetting Kashmiri
militants, a charge Pakistan has denied. Islamabad has said it
supports the Kashmiris' legitimate aspirations for freedom.
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