India: Pakistan must be disciplined
India's foreign minister calls on the international community to discipline Islamabad over its alleged 'terrorism sponsorship' activities.
In an apparent reference to Pakistan, Pranab Mukherjee said Wednesday that the problem of terrorism becomes complex when "recalcitrant" states do not recognize their international commitments.
"It clearly spells out that if a state apparatus sponsors terrorism as an act of state policy, or a recalcitrant state refuses to recognize its international commitments and responsibilities on not allowing the use of (its) territory for terror activities, the problem becomes more complex and difficult," Mukherjee said in New Delhi.
Tension has been running high between the nuclear-armed neighbors since the attacks on the Indian port city of Mumbai on November 26-29 which killed 179 people.
Comparing the magnitude of the Mumbai siege to the September 11 terror attacks in the US, the foreign minister emphasized terrorism today is not just an act of misguided individuals or a small group.
"Therefore it is high time for the international community to recognize that such recalcitrant states must be brought to discipline by resorting to various international mechanisms," he added.
The remarks are the latest among the tit-for-tat accusations between the two neighbors in the aftermath of last year's terror attacks on Mumbai.
New Delhi, London, and Washington hold a Pakistan-based militant group called Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) responsible for attacks.
Indian authorities are frustrated at what they see as Islamabad's slow response in arresting and prosecuting those allegedly involved in the case.
Islamabad has been angered by the Indian claims that Pakistani state agencies were engaged in the incident as well as India's repeated hints at a military option.
Pakistan has condemned the Mumbai attacks from the outset and has vehemently denied involvement of any of its agencies in the attacks.
Pakistan has so far detained scores of LeT members and members of an affiliated charity, the Jamaat-ul-Dawa (JuD), allegedly involved in the Mumbai siege. The country's Interior Ministry Chief Rehman Malik set a 10-day deadline at the weekend for an investigating team to complete a report.