Sharif says Pak should 'seriously' consider Indian evidence

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Jan 13 (PTI) Former Premier Nawaz Sharif
Tuesday said Pakistan should "seriously" consider the evidence
handed over by India on the Mumbai attacks and highlighted the
need to keep the direct communication channel between the two
countries open to avoid "misunderstandings".

"We should seriously take notice of the evidence that has
been received and pay attention to it. At the least, we should
not give anyone an opportunity to say that Pakistan is
dragging its feet to investigate the matter," said Sharif, the
chief of the opposition PML-N party.

Calling for a joint investigation of the Mumbai attacks
by Pakistan and India, he told a news conference here that the
two countries should try to avoid "point-scoring" and keep
open the channel of communications to avoid misunderstandings.

"We should fulfill our responsibilities and convince
India to work with us to conduct an inquiry. There should not
be any point-scoring because that will be damaging and
disastrous for both countries," he said.

Asked about information on the Mumbai incident being
shared by India with Pakistan through the US, Sharif said: "I
think India should open a channel for direct communication
with Pakistan. If this channel has been closed for some
reason, both countries should make efforts to open it again.

"A communication gap leads to an increase in
misunderstandings and the situation gets worse. The situation
gets to a stage where it will not be manageable. This
communication channel should not be closed under any
circumstances."

India has accused Pakistan of not taking action on its
dossier on the Mumbai attacks. The dossier includes the
confession of Ajmal Amir Iman 'Kasab', the lone Pakistani
terrorist captured during the attacks, and transcripts of
phone conversations between the attackers and their
Pakistan-based handlers.

After weeks of denial, Pakistan recently acknowledged
Kasab as a Pakistani national. Pakistan has also said it is
conducting its own investigation into the information shared
by India but will not hand over any suspect to any other
country.

Sharif also called on the world community to address the
root causes of terrorism, noting that the Israeli aggression
in Palestine is encouraging "non-state elements to act". PTI