British Foreign Secretary David Miliband (left) with Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee during a press briefing following a meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday . -- PHOTO: AP
NEW DELHI- BRITISH Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Tuesday the Pakistan state had not directed the attacks on Mumbai, but urged Islamabad to fulfill its promise to root out Islamic militant groups.
On a visit to show solidarity with India after the November siege in which gunmen killed 165 people, Miliband said Pakistan must act against the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group widely blamed for the attacks.
'I have said publicly that I do not believe the attacks were directed by the Pakistani state,' Mr Miliband told reporters.
'What is relevant is the approach of the Pakistani state to the LeT and the way the Pakistani state takes on the menace of the LeT.'
India blames the banned LeT for training, equipping and financing the ten gunmen who opened fire with automatic weapons and threw hand grenades at a number of locations in Mumbai.
India's prime minister said last week the Mumbai attacks had the support of 'some official agencies' in Pakistan, and said Islamabad was using terrorism as an 'instrument of state policy.'
In December, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on a visit to the region backed India's accusations against the LeT. -- AFP
