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| Dec 22, 2008 | |
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Indian envoys to discuss attacks
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| NEW DELHI - MILITANT groups based in Pakistan endanger the entire world, India's foreign minister told Indian envoys on Monday at a meeting expected to spotlight ways to step up pressure on Islamabad.
India blames a Pakistan-based militant group for the three-day siege of India's financial capital of Mumbai last month that killed 164 people and nine of the 10 accused gunmen. More than 120 Indian ambassadors are meeting in New Delhi for three days of talks, a gathering scheduled before the Mumbai attacks but now expected to shift focus onto efforts to ratchet up pressure on Islamabad. 'This terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan is the greatest terrorist danger to peace and security of the entire civilised world,' External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the diplomats. 'We have so far acted with utmost restraint and are hopeful that (the) international community will use its influence to urge (the) Pakistani government to take effective action,' he said. However, India also is prepared to act alone, he said. 'While we continue to persuade the international community and Pakistan, we are also clear that ultimately, it is we who have to deal with this problem,' Mukherjee said. 'We will take all measures necessary as we deem fit to deal with the situation.' In the weeks since the Nov 26 attacks, tensions have been high between India and Pakistan but India's prime minister, along with other senior leaders, have said they are not preparing for war. Since the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan has moved against both Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group blamed for the attacks, and Jamaat-ud-Dawam, a charity India and the international community say is a front for Lashkar. The steps came after the UN Security Council banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and Pakistan detained several activists and shut down some of their offices. But India says Pakistani actions are insufficient and has called on Islamabad to hand over wanted men. Pakistan for its part, says India has not provided any evidence of Pakistani involvement in the attacks. The foreign minister said Islamabad is prepared to cooperate but must heed its own laws. 'As far as handing over of people (to India), we have our own laws and we have to operate within the ambit of our own laws,' he said Sunday in Multan, Pakistan. He urged restraint, saying: 'We should act sensibly, not emotionally. We do not want war. We want peace.' Lashkar-e-Taiba has been an unofficial ally of the Pakistan army in Kashmir, a disputed territory claimed by both India and Pakistan. -- AP | |
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