By Ed Johnson
Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Pakistan isn’t doing enough to prosecute terrorists who killed 166 people in Mumbai a year ago, an attack that interrupted peace talks between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
“The conspiracy took place in Pakistan,” Singh said in an interview with CNN broadcast yesterday as he began a state visit to the U.S. “A friendly Pakistan” determined to tackle terrorism “would take the case to its logical conclusion. That is not happening.”
Ten terrorists carrying automatic weapons and grenades landed in dinghies on the night of Nov. 26 last year before splitting into groups and attacking a popular city restaurant, a packed railway station and two luxury hotels in India’s financial hub. Nine were killed by commandos over three days. The surviving gunman is on trial in Mumbai.
India says the attacks were planned by the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and is demanding the government in Islamabad brings members to justice. Pakistan has arrested some group members and says they will face a secret trial.
“It is our feeling that Pakistan has not done enough,” Singh told CNN, adding the group’s founder, cleric Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is “roaming around freely.”
The government in New Delhi says progress in stalled peace talks depends on Pakistan ensuring its territory isn’t used for terrorist activities.
Peace Process
The peace process, which began in 2003, has led to increased cultural, transport and sporting links between the countries, which have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir. The divided Himalayan territory is claimed in full by both nations.
Singh told CNN that while “there can be no redrawing of borders,” India and Pakistan can “work together to ensure that these are borders of peace.”
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi yesterday stressed the need for talks to resume, the official Associated Press of Pakistan reported. At the same time, he accused India of fueling terrorism in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas bordering Afghanistan and southern Baluchistan province.
Pakistan is gathering “concrete evidence” of Indian involvement, APP cited Qureshi as saying, without elaborating.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: November 22, 2009 18:01 EST
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