Pak media terms country's admission on Mumbai a seismic shift

Islamabad, Feb 13 (PTI) It marks a "seismic shift" in
Pakistan's stand on terror groups, screamed the country's
media on Islamabad's admission that part of conspiracy of the
Mumbai attacks was hatched within the state and counseled that
India should cooperate to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"Honesty and hard realities" are finally dawning on the
decision makers," said the News Daily in an editorial which
proclaimed "we mean business".

The paper said Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik's
announcement that charges have been filed against nine
suspects, including several Pakistanis and Ajmal Kasab, the
lone terrorist captured for the attacks, and that part of the
conspiracy had "taken place in Pakistan" is a "seismic shift"
in the way the government has approached the matter.

"This is the first time that a senior representative of a
sitting Pakistani government has ever acknowledged that any
terror attack on another nation has been planned in whole or
part within the country.

"There can be no doubt that this admission could mean
serious implications for the security services – as Mr Malik
is sure to know more than he is telling us," it said.

The paper opined that Pakistan has been "open and
upfront" on the investigations on the Mumbai terror attacks
and this should inspire confidence in Pakistan government and
"within the nations around us".

There is "need for one voice," declared the Nation daily
and said there was a need for a coordinated response by all
Pakistani institutions.

Labeling Malik's revelations as "significant," another
newspaper the Daily Times said these proved that "Islamabad
had been pursuing the case diligently and in line with its
promise to do so".

The paper said "it also indicates that the government was
sincere in condemning the Mumbai attack and was not complicit
in it, a wild allegation made by India as part of its
diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan and paint it as a
sponsor of terrorism".

It quoted Malik as saying that six of the nine suspects
named in Pakistan's FIR on the Mumbai attacks had been
arrested while two others had been identified but were still
at large and that the Pakistani investigators had found links
that led to Austria, Italy, Spain and the US.

The accused had "prima facie committed offences"
punishable under the Anti-Terrorism Act, Pakistan Penal Code
and Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance, he added.

"Now let us see reciprocity on the Indian side," the
Pakistani media said.

The Daily Times said that India should now work with
Pakistan to take the probe forward. "There is also a
requirement for India to cooperate with Pakistan, a fact that
Islamabad has long stressed. The (Indian) dossier itself is
not enough". PTI RHL