Mumbai attackers have links in Pakistan: Boucher

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jan 7 (PTI) Supporting India's views on involvement of Pakistan-based terror outfits in Mumbai attacks, the US has said those involved in the strikes have links in Islamabad.

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central
Asian Affairs, Richard Boucher, has said those involved in the
Mumbai terror attacks have links in Pakistan.

"I would say it's clear that they had links in Pakistan,
that the attackers had links that lead to Pakistani soil"
Boucher said in Islamabad on Monday, according to transcripts
released by State Department in Washington Wednesday.

"And as far as exactly what those links were and who they
were attached to and how they did this, I think that's a
matter that's still under investigation," Boucher told
reporters in response to a question.

Boucher, who talked with Pak leadership on this issue at
length, reiterated that whoever was involved in this, needs to
be held responsible. "But I also wouldn't jump to any
particular conclusions," he said.

"It's important that anybody who was involved in this, in
the planning and execution of this act, be brought to justice
and held accountable. I think leaders in Pakistan are
determined to do that. They're determined to pursue the
investigation. And we'll have to watch as it unfolds to see
where it leads," he said.

When asked about evidence given by India to Pakistan on
Mumbai attacks, Boucher refrained from passing any judgment at
this stage as the investigations were still on.

"I think we're at the stage where people need to share
information, follow up leads, and determine everything they
can about what happened," Boucher said.

When asked about Pakistan's role in the investigation
related to Mumbai attacks in which several US nationals were
killed, Boucher said: "I think there's a determination here to
follow up, find those who are responsible, make sure that we
know all we can about how they did it, and even better than
that, making sure that they can't ever do it again."

Referring to his meetings with Pak leadership, Boucher
said: "We talked about how to ensure that, particularly how to
ensure the flow of information back and forth so that the
pieces of the puzzle that are on the Indian side can be known
to the rest of us that are interested, and the pieces of the
puzzle that are on the Pakistani side can be known to the
Indians who want to get to the bottom of this."

Boucher said the US has tried to encourage sharing of
information so that everybody who is determined to stop this
kind of attack can conduct their investigations and pursue all
possible leads. "So we understand who did it, what happened,
how they did it, and how to stop it," he observed.

In terms of taking action against the groups in Pakistan
that were involved in this, Boucher said: "I think Pakistan
has done quite a bit. I think India's investigation is
advancing. So I think more and more information is being
known, so let's try to see what we can do in terms of sharing
and following up each other's information." PTI LKJ