ID :
41154
Sat, 01/17/2009 - 16:31
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/41154
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Pak briefs India on actions launched by it over Mumbai attack By Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Jan 16 (PTI) Pakistan Friday formally told
India that it had initiated a "series" of actions as part of
its own probe into the Mumbai terror attacks and assured that
any of its nationals found involved will be dealt "with an
iron hand" and tried under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Pakistan's first formal official 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 carnage on November 26.
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 today 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.
The statement did not give details about the various
steps that had been initiated by the Pakistan government.
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.
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, who is in Pakistan after a visit to India to
help defuse regional tensions, told a news conference here
that Pakistan needed to go farther and faster to tackle
terrorism.
He said Pakistan must prosecute and punish those found to
be linked to the Mumbai attacks and root out terrorist
infrastructure.
Mukherjee called for sharing of information through
diplomatic channels after Pakistan's Interior Ministry chief
Rehman Malik held a news conference Thursday 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.
Malik also said that a three-member commission, headed by
Additional Director General Javed Iqbal of the Federal
Investigation Agency, had been formed to probe the Mumbai
attacks.
The team had the power to take into custody any person
suspected of having "direct or indirect links" to the Mumbai
incident or of having helped the Mumbai attackers.
The team had also been authorised to "share information
directly with Indian investigation organisations so that this
process could be completed at the earliest", Malik was quoted
as saying by Geo News.
The Pakistan government has already ruled out the
possibility of handing over any terror suspects linked to the
Mumbai suspects to India.
Malik told Geo New channel the government had decided
that any Pakistani national found to be involved in the Mumbai
attacks would be dealt with "with an iron hand" and tried
under the "Anti-Terrorism Act in special anti-terror courts".
"If the commission feels the need for visiting carnage
sites in Mumbai, then Indian officials would be contacted...
and the commission would be sent to India," the report said.
Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah said the commission
would soon present its report to the interior ministry and it
would be forwarded to the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan Prime Minister has asked the
government to probe the Mumbai terror attacks "transparently"
by acting on the "proof" as the world was watching the
country.
"The world is watching us. Our probe must be
transparent," the opposition PML-N chief said.
He said both countries should show maturity. "Instead of
giving threatening statements, both sides should try to solve
the matter." PTI RHL
PMR
India that it had initiated a "series" of actions as part of
its own probe into the Mumbai terror attacks and assured that
any of its nationals found involved will be dealt "with an
iron hand" and tried under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Pakistan's first formal official 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 carnage on November 26.
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 today 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.
The statement did not give details about the various
steps that had been initiated by the Pakistan government.
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.
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, who is in Pakistan after a visit to India to
help defuse regional tensions, told a news conference here
that Pakistan needed to go farther and faster to tackle
terrorism.
He said Pakistan must prosecute and punish those found to
be linked to the Mumbai attacks and root out terrorist
infrastructure.
Mukherjee called for sharing of information through
diplomatic channels after Pakistan's Interior Ministry chief
Rehman Malik held a news conference Thursday 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.
Malik also said that a three-member commission, headed by
Additional Director General Javed Iqbal of the Federal
Investigation Agency, had been formed to probe the Mumbai
attacks.
The team had the power to take into custody any person
suspected of having "direct or indirect links" to the Mumbai
incident or of having helped the Mumbai attackers.
The team had also been authorised to "share information
directly with Indian investigation organisations so that this
process could be completed at the earliest", Malik was quoted
as saying by Geo News.
The Pakistan government has already ruled out the
possibility of handing over any terror suspects linked to the
Mumbai suspects to India.
Malik told Geo New channel the government had decided
that any Pakistani national found to be involved in the Mumbai
attacks would be dealt with "with an iron hand" and tried
under the "Anti-Terrorism Act in special anti-terror courts".
"If the commission feels the need for visiting carnage
sites in Mumbai, then Indian officials would be contacted...
and the commission would be sent to India," the report said.
Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah said the commission
would soon present its report to the interior ministry and it
would be forwarded to the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan Prime Minister has asked the
government to probe the Mumbai terror attacks "transparently"
by acting on the "proof" as the world was watching the
country.
"The world is watching us. Our probe must be
transparent," the opposition PML-N chief said.
He said both countries should show maturity. "Instead of
giving threatening statements, both sides should try to solve
the matter." PTI RHL
PMR
