Saturday, December 27, 2008

India needs to provide credible Mumbai attack’s evidence to Pakistan

India needs to provide credible Mumbai attack’s evidence to Pakistan
WASHINGTON, Dec 27 (APP): Pakistan on Saturday said it is fighting terrorism and not denying it and has offered cooperation to investigate last month’s Mumbai attacks but India has not provided credible evidence to prove any Pakistani individual or groups involvement in the incident.

“Pakistan has offered unconditional support to India in investigating the gruesome act of terrorism in Mumbai. The fact is that, as of now, we have not been provided credible evidence of any Pakistani individual or group’s involvement,” a Pakistani embassy spokesman stated.

In a letter published in the Washington Post, Press attache Nadeem Kiani rebutted suggestions in its recent editorial, saying the government of Pakistan is committed to the war on terrorism and to confronting the plague of extremism within its borders, in the tribal areas and on its frontiers.

“The newly elected civilian government led by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani has complete authority over the state institutions, including the military and intelligence agencies. All institutions are working under the coordination and direction of the political leadership.”

He pointed out that Pakistan and India have both been victims of terrorism, and need to fight it jointly.

The Press attache wrote the Lashkar-i-Taiba has been banned in Pakistan and does not exist.

In the light of U.N. sanctions committee’s decision to place the group Jamaat-ud-Dawa on the terrorism watch list, the government of Pakistan has notified the group that it is a banned organization. Its accounts have been frozen and all of its main offices in earthquake-affected areas of Azad Kashmir have been sealed. Furthermore, more than 45 offices of the organization have been sealed in Pakistan and dozens of persons associated with it have been arrested, Kiani wrote.

“What Pakistan has emphasized to the Indian government is the need to provide evidence against any Pakistani individual or group involved in the Mumbai incident so the perpetrators of this inhuman crime can be prosecuted in the court of law.”

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