Pak informs India of actions launched by it over Mumbai attack By Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Jan 16 (PTI) In its first formal response to
India with regard to the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan Friday said
it had initiated a "series" of actions in connection with the
probe into the terror strikes.

Pakistan's response was conveyed by Foreign Secretary
Salman Bashir to Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal, a
day after India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee
said Islamabad should inform New Delhi through diplomatic
channels about steps it had taken in the wake of the Mumbai
strikes.

During the meeting at the Foreign Office here, Bashir
discussed with the Indian envoy the ongoing probe and other
measures, including actions initiated by Pakistan to implement
sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council on the banned
Jamaat-ud-Dawa and leaders of Lashkar-e-Toiba.

"The Foreign Secretary has conveyed Friday to the Indian
High Commissioner in Islamabad the sequence and series of
actions initiated by the government of Pakistan in pursuance
of its international obligations as well as those relating to
the Mumbai terrorist attacks," a Foreign Office spokesman said
in a statement.

Bashir "mentioned that an official inquiry has already
been launched as announced by the Prime Minister of Pakistan
in his address to the National Assembly (lower house of
parliament) on January 13", the statement said.

Bashir also said "it was important for Pakistan and India
to chart the way forward on anti-terrorism cooperation" and
highlighted "the imperative need for an across-the-board
constructive bilateral engagement".

The statement did not give details about the various
steps that had been initiated by the Pakistan government.

Mukherjee called for sharing of information through
diplomatic channels after Pakistan's Interior Ministry chief
Rehman Malik held a news conference yesterday and detailed the
action taken against the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Lashkar-e-Toiba,
including the detention of 124 members of banned groups and
the closure of five militant training camps.

During his meeting with the Indian High Commissioner,
Bashir also "transmitted a letter addressed by Prime Minister
Yousuf Raza Gilani in response to the New Year's greetings
received from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh", the statement
said.

Greeting cards sent by Singh to President Asif Ali
Zardari and Gilani were seen by the Pakistan government as an
indication of India's desire for better relations following
the tensions sparked by the Mumbai attacks.

The Indian High Commissioner's visit to the Foreign
Office coincided with a meeting there between British Foreign
Secretary David Miliband and his Pakistani counterpart Shah
Mahmood Qureshi.

Miliband is in Pakistan after a visit to India to help
defuse regional tensions. PTI RHL
PMR