BanglaBhoot
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A senior Pakistani diplomat said last year's terrorist rampage in Mumbai wasn't planned in Pakistan, and accused India of backing up its allegations of a Pakistani link with "fabricated" and "flimsy" evidence.
Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan's high commissioner to Britain, made his comments Friday to The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets. It was unclear whether his views represented the government's official conclusions on a dossier provided several weeks ago by India. The dossier, prepared by the Indian government, said the plot for the November assault was hatched in Pakistan and carried out by Pakistanis directed by Pakistan-based terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Mr. Hasan, speaking from London in a telephone interview, cautioned that he had only talked with people involved in the Pakistani investigation and hadn't seen his government's official report on the Indian dossier. Mr. Hasan said the report is likely to be released Monday or Tuesday.
Mr. Hasan's comments contradict statements by Pakistani security officials, who have said privately that at least one suspect -- a senior Lashkar member -- arrested by Pakistan after the assault, has confessed that his group plotted the operation, trained the attackers at bases inside Pakistan, and maintained phone contact with the gunmen during the three-day killing spree.
Pakistan's prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, who is at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said in an interview with the Journal, that the investigation is continuing. Mr. Gilani said he didn't want to comment on the investigation or the high commissioner's remarks, which he said he hadn't seen.
Mr. Hasan's remarks appear to reflect broader uncertainty in Islamabad over how to respond to the Mumbai attacks. While some officials are inclined to pursue the culprits -- because of international pressure and Pakistan's battle against Islamic militant groups -- at the same time, many don't want to be seen as caving to Indian demands for action.
Mr. Hasan said he was speaking with the media only because of persistent questions about whether the attacks "were planned in Pakistan or the U.K."
He said the people he spoke with who were working on the Pakistani report said "it was not the U.K., not Pakistan that was used for planning purposes."
Mr. Hasan said Pakistan's Interior Ministry is still investigating where the planning took place. "It could have been a neighboring country," he added. He declined to be more specific.
An Indian foreign ministry official expressed disbelief when told of Mr. Hasan's statements. The official said "we expect them to come clean" but that New Delhi would wait for the final report on the Pakistani investigation before formally responding.
In Washington, U.S. officials said they continue to believe that Lashkar-e-Taiba members in Pakistan were behind the attacks. "There are strong indications that much of the plot was hatched by individuals in Pakistan," a U.S. counterterrorism official said.
Pakistani Calls Attack Evidence Flimsy - WSJ.com
Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan's high commissioner to Britain, made his comments Friday to The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets. It was unclear whether his views represented the government's official conclusions on a dossier provided several weeks ago by India. The dossier, prepared by the Indian government, said the plot for the November assault was hatched in Pakistan and carried out by Pakistanis directed by Pakistan-based terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Mr. Hasan, speaking from London in a telephone interview, cautioned that he had only talked with people involved in the Pakistani investigation and hadn't seen his government's official report on the Indian dossier. Mr. Hasan said the report is likely to be released Monday or Tuesday.
Mr. Hasan's comments contradict statements by Pakistani security officials, who have said privately that at least one suspect -- a senior Lashkar member -- arrested by Pakistan after the assault, has confessed that his group plotted the operation, trained the attackers at bases inside Pakistan, and maintained phone contact with the gunmen during the three-day killing spree.
Pakistan's prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, who is at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said in an interview with the Journal, that the investigation is continuing. Mr. Gilani said he didn't want to comment on the investigation or the high commissioner's remarks, which he said he hadn't seen.
Mr. Hasan's remarks appear to reflect broader uncertainty in Islamabad over how to respond to the Mumbai attacks. While some officials are inclined to pursue the culprits -- because of international pressure and Pakistan's battle against Islamic militant groups -- at the same time, many don't want to be seen as caving to Indian demands for action.
Mr. Hasan said he was speaking with the media only because of persistent questions about whether the attacks "were planned in Pakistan or the U.K."
He said the people he spoke with who were working on the Pakistani report said "it was not the U.K., not Pakistan that was used for planning purposes."
Mr. Hasan said Pakistan's Interior Ministry is still investigating where the planning took place. "It could have been a neighboring country," he added. He declined to be more specific.
An Indian foreign ministry official expressed disbelief when told of Mr. Hasan's statements. The official said "we expect them to come clean" but that New Delhi would wait for the final report on the Pakistani investigation before formally responding.
In Washington, U.S. officials said they continue to believe that Lashkar-e-Taiba members in Pakistan were behind the attacks. "There are strong indications that much of the plot was hatched by individuals in Pakistan," a U.S. counterterrorism official said.
Pakistani Calls Attack Evidence Flimsy - WSJ.com
and BTW this is not a kiddish video
