Mumbai attacks: India provided adequate evidence, says Vohra

23 Dec, 2008

Manpreet Vohra, Deputy High Commissioner, India on Monday categorically stated that Pakistan has been provided adequate evidence of involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists in Mumbai attacks, however, the Pakistani government has not shared details of action taken against terrorists, if any.
The foreign office spokesman, Muhammad Sadiq in a statement here on Monday said that Pakistan has not received any information or evidence relating to the Mumbai incident so far from India.
Talking to the media after attending a seminar on South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) Charter day, he said that all we know about Pakistani action against the terrorists is based upon media reports. 'Much more is required of the government and this is also a demand made by the international community', he said.
Earlier, this week, Condoleezza Rice said her message to the Pakistani leadership was "you need to deal with the terrorism problem. And it's not enough to say these are non-state actors. If they're operating from Pakistani territory, they have to be dealt with".
Responding to a question regarding the possibility of war, he said that Indian leaders have categorically made it clear that war was not a solution to the problem. It may be recalled that Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday had warned on Sunday that the option of unilateral action against Pakistan remained open.
When asked whether preliminary investigation had revealed conclusive proof regarding involvement of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Mumbai attacks, he said that the evidence, which we shared with Pakistan, was not merely related to the Mumbai incident. We have been in discussions with Pakistan for a long time regarding involvement of Pakistanis in terrorist activities, he added.
He, however, denied that India was considering targeted action against what it believed were terrorist strongholds in Pakistan, saying it was the responsibility of the Pakistani government to deal with them.
Earlier, addressing the seminar he said that India was committed to peacefully resolving all issues with Pakistan. It is also India's view that while efforts and discussions continue, no so-called 'core issue' must be allowed to be held hostage to the overall relationship; or in the fulfilment of obligations such as in Saarc, or the realisation of considerable potential in other areas like trade.

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