India PM urges speedy Pakistani investigation,action
17 Jan 2009 14:56:33 GMT Source: Reuters
By Rina Chandran MUMBAI, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday urged Pakistan to fully disclose all facts about the attack in Mumbai last November and to act swiftly against militant groups on its soil. India has sent evidence to Pakistan that it said linked Pakistani militants to the attacks that killed 179 people, and has asked for extradition of the suspects. "We expect Pakistan to take all the consequent next steps against all those who have planned, organised and executed these horrific crimes," Singh said on Saturday at a function at the Trident hotel, one of the sites that was attacked by 10 gunmen. Singh earlier this month accused Pakistan of acting irresponsibly, and said the Mumbai attacks must have had support from some of its official agencies. Pakistan has rejected the accusation and said such charges jeopardised chances of cooperation against terrorism. "I urge Pakistani authorities to come out with a full and complete disclosure of all the facts surrounding the case and desist from attempts at denial, diversion or obfuscation," Singh told a gathering of business chiefs on Saturday. INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY Tensions have run high between the two nuclear-armed rivals since the attack that India has blamed on the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, with India increasingly frustrated with what it sees as Pakistan's tardiness in responding. Urging Pakistan to show that it is sincere "through its actions" as well, Singh said Pakistan should act against LeT and other militant groups "in its own interest" as well, and called on the international community to exert pressure on Pakistan. "We expect the international community to use its full weight to see that the investigations are pursued to a speedy and logical conclusion and terrorist groups operating from Pakistan are completely shut down," Singh said. Pakistan has detained scores of the LeT and an affiliated Islamic charity, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, but India is demanding it dismantle what it calls the "infrastructure of terrorism". Pakistan, in turn, has been angered by the Indian suggestion that Pakistani state agencies were involved and what it sees as repeated Indian hints of military action. But the chances of a military confrontation between the two rivals that have fought three wars since 1947 have receded, according to analysts, thanks in part due to the diplomacy of the United States and other powers.
A Nepalese policeman performs a search for poultry products on a man who had just arrived from the Indian border, in Kakarvitta January 17, 2009. A senior Nepalese official said on ...
