‘No plans for military action against Pakistan’
INDIA: India said yesterday it was not planning military
action against Pakistan in response to the deadly Mumbai attacks but
warned that its relationship with its rival would not be “normal” until
Islamabad takes action against militants.
Indian authorities have blamed the Pakistani militant group
Lashkar-e-Taiba for the three-day siege that left 164 dead in Mumbai
last month.
Pakistan has arrested a senior Lashkar leader who was the suspected
mastermind of the attacks and shuttered the offices of a charity linked
to Lashkar. Authorities there say they will prosecute anyone allegedly
involved in the attacks in their own courts.
But Indian leaders have said the moves are not sufficient and have
called on Pakistan to do more to dismantle the terror network they claim
is well-established in that country.
Defense Minister A.K. Antony said India was “not planning any
military action” against Pakistan but urged Islamabad to crack down on
militants thought to be based within its borders.
“Unless Pakistan takes actions against those terrorists who are
operating on their soil against India ... things will not be normal,”
Antony told reporters Tuesday.
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.
The attacks killed 26 foreigners, and U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have visited
New Delhi and Islamabad to cool tensions in the region, and to press
Pakistan to cooperate in the investigation.
Brown asked for access to the suspects detained in Pakistan during a
visit to Islamabad on Sunday. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza
Gilani said he turned him down.
According to Gilani’s office, the Pakistani prime minister said in
parliament that he told Brown that “if there were any proofs, these
persons will be prosecuted under the law of Pakistan.” Brown also has
asked India to let British police question the only gunman captured
alive during the Mumbai attacks. India has made no public response.
New Delhi ,Tueday, AP |