The dismissal of Mr Mahmud Ali Durrani on Wednesday came as a 100-page dossier of evidence, which New Delhi said linked Pakistani militants to the attacks, was released to the public.

The dossier, which contained transcripts of intercepted calls between the gunmen and their handlers in Pakistan during the assault on targets, including luxury hotels, a train station and a Jewish centre, was presented to Pakistan on Monday. The Hindu newspaper, which obtained a copy, published the dossier on Wednesday.

Mr Imran Gardaizi, a spokesman for Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, said Mr Durrani was sacked because 'he gave media interviews on national security issues without consulting the prime minister'.

But Mr Durrani, who was handpicked by President Asif Ali Zardari for the national security job, told Reuters that the authorities had already decided to confirm the gunman was Pakistani.

He added that he was dismissed because PM Gilani had not been informed about the decision and had felt the need to exert his authority.

'The Prime Minister happened to be ignorant. He was in Lahore and he didn't know about it. He was out of the loop,' Mr Durrani said.

Political analyst Talat Masood said the dismissal 'definitely reflects on the confusion that prevails in Pakistan in the functioning of the government and the indecisiveness over how to deal with India'.

Pakistan's civilian government, which came to power last year after more than eight years of military rule, has multiple power centres, including a president and prime minister. The military remains a powerful presence, and the military-run spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is believed to have a high degree of independence.

The ISI is believed to have helped establish Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group that India alleges masterminded the November attack in Mumbai, but Pakistan has denied any of its state institutions were involved in the Mumbai bloodshed.

India had been saying for weeks that the gunman captured in Mumbai, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, was from Pakistan. But Islamabad had said it could not find his name on a national database of citizens and it was investigating.

Mr Durrani said the confirmation of Kasab's nationality should help ease tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS