12-04-2008, 06:19 AM
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<b>Top US officials try to defuse Mumbai tension</b>
ISTANBUL - Top US officials visit India and Pakistan as part of a US effort to ease tensions in the region after the Mumbai attacks killed at least 180 people. As US military commander meets with Pakistani leaders, US secretary of state calls for urgent action and cooperation in New Delhi
The top U.S diplomat and the country's senior military officer made a direct appeal to India and Pakistan to share information following the terror attacks in Mumbai, which left at least 180 people dead including 22 foreigners, and injured nearly 300 others. The Bush administration sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to India, while Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Pakistan.
Speaking in the Indian capital, New Delhi, Rice said Pakistan must show "resolve and urgency" as she called yesterday for international cooperation in the investigation into the Mumbai attacks.
"Pakistan needs to act with urgency and with resolve and cooperate fully and transparently," Rice told reporters prior to talks with Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "That message will be delivered to Pakistan," said America's top diplomat, who was expected to fly to Islamabad today.
Indian and U.S. officials have pointed the finger at Pakistani-based groups in the Mumbai terror attacks. But Pakistan denied any involvement in the rampage and has pledged full cooperation with India. Rice said it was too early to say who was responsible for the attack, but: "Whether there is a direct al-Qaeda hand or not, this is clearly the kind of terror in which al-Qaeda participates."
Suspects face trial in Pakistan
New Delhi, already facing accusations of security and intelligence failures, has demanded that Pakistan take action against those responsible and asked that 20 suspected terrorists believed living in the country be handed over. However, Pakistani President Asif Zardari said any of the 20 suspects wanted by India would be tried in Pakistan if there is evidence of wrongdoing.
Zardari said he would "look into all the possibility of any proof" about the suspects sought by India and insisted they would be dealt with under Pakistani law, as reported by The Associated Press.
"At the moment, these are just names of individuals - no proof and no investigation," he said Tuesday in an interview with CNN's Larry King. "If we had the proof, we would try them in our courts and we would try them in our land and we would sentence them."
India has stepped up the pressure on its neighbor after interrogating the only surviving attacker, who told police that he and the other nine gunmen had trained for months in camps in Pakistan operated by the banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
U.S. National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell said Tuesday the same group that carried out last week's attack is believed to be behind the Mumbai train bombings that killed more than 200 people two years ago. While he didn't identify the group, New Delhi has attributed the 2006 attack to Lashkar and the Students Islamic Movement of India.
US commander in Islamabad
In other efforts to ease row between India and Pakistan, the top U.S. military commander flew into Pakistani capital, Islamabad. The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen arrived in Islamabad for talks with Pakistan's 8-month-old civilian government and military officials. He urged Pakistani officials to "investigate aggressively any and all possible ties to groups in Pakistan" and "take more, and more concerted, action against extremists," reported Reuters.
India has long said Pakistan is unable or unwilling to act against anti-India militant groups there. The latest attacks risk unraveling improved ties between the adversaries, who have fought three wars since independence from Britain.
Indian FMPranab Mukherjee said military action was not being considered but later warned that a peace process begun in 2004 was at risk if Pakistan did not act decisively. Congress Party head Sonia Gandhi yesterday traveled to the ceasefire line in Kashmir, a mountainous region over which India and Pakistan have fought for over half a century. "India wants peaceful ties with all its neighbors, but this should not be taken as a weakness," Gandhi said.
India and Pakistan were on the brink of a fourth war in 2002, just a few years after both demonstrated nuclear weapons capabilities, following an attack on India's parliament by Islamist militants. They pulled back after frantic diplomacy by the U.S. and other allies.
<b>Top US officials try to defuse Mumbai tension</b>
ISTANBUL - Top US officials visit India and Pakistan as part of a US effort to ease tensions in the region after the Mumbai attacks killed at least 180 people. As US military commander meets with Pakistani leaders, US secretary of state calls for urgent action and cooperation in New Delhi
The top U.S diplomat and the country's senior military officer made a direct appeal to India and Pakistan to share information following the terror attacks in Mumbai, which left at least 180 people dead including 22 foreigners, and injured nearly 300 others. The Bush administration sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to India, while Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Pakistan.
Speaking in the Indian capital, New Delhi, Rice said Pakistan must show "resolve and urgency" as she called yesterday for international cooperation in the investigation into the Mumbai attacks.
"Pakistan needs to act with urgency and with resolve and cooperate fully and transparently," Rice told reporters prior to talks with Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "That message will be delivered to Pakistan," said America's top diplomat, who was expected to fly to Islamabad today.
Indian and U.S. officials have pointed the finger at Pakistani-based groups in the Mumbai terror attacks. But Pakistan denied any involvement in the rampage and has pledged full cooperation with India. Rice said it was too early to say who was responsible for the attack, but: "Whether there is a direct al-Qaeda hand or not, this is clearly the kind of terror in which al-Qaeda participates."
Suspects face trial in Pakistan
New Delhi, already facing accusations of security and intelligence failures, has demanded that Pakistan take action against those responsible and asked that 20 suspected terrorists believed living in the country be handed over. However, Pakistani President Asif Zardari said any of the 20 suspects wanted by India would be tried in Pakistan if there is evidence of wrongdoing.
Zardari said he would "look into all the possibility of any proof" about the suspects sought by India and insisted they would be dealt with under Pakistani law, as reported by The Associated Press.
"At the moment, these are just names of individuals - no proof and no investigation," he said Tuesday in an interview with CNN's Larry King. "If we had the proof, we would try them in our courts and we would try them in our land and we would sentence them."
India has stepped up the pressure on its neighbor after interrogating the only surviving attacker, who told police that he and the other nine gunmen had trained for months in camps in Pakistan operated by the banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
U.S. National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell said Tuesday the same group that carried out last week's attack is believed to be behind the Mumbai train bombings that killed more than 200 people two years ago. While he didn't identify the group, New Delhi has attributed the 2006 attack to Lashkar and the Students Islamic Movement of India.
US commander in Islamabad
In other efforts to ease row between India and Pakistan, the top U.S. military commander flew into Pakistani capital, Islamabad. The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen arrived in Islamabad for talks with Pakistan's 8-month-old civilian government and military officials. He urged Pakistani officials to "investigate aggressively any and all possible ties to groups in Pakistan" and "take more, and more concerted, action against extremists," reported Reuters.
India has long said Pakistan is unable or unwilling to act against anti-India militant groups there. The latest attacks risk unraveling improved ties between the adversaries, who have fought three wars since independence from Britain.
Indian FMPranab Mukherjee said military action was not being considered but later warned that a peace process begun in 2004 was at risk if Pakistan did not act decisively. Congress Party head Sonia Gandhi yesterday traveled to the ceasefire line in Kashmir, a mountainous region over which India and Pakistan have fought for over half a century. "India wants peaceful ties with all its neighbors, but this should not be taken as a weakness," Gandhi said.
India and Pakistan were on the brink of a fourth war in 2002, just a few years after both demonstrated nuclear weapons capabilities, following an attack on India's parliament by Islamist militants. They pulled back after frantic diplomacy by the U.S. and other allies.