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Sarkozy pays tribute to Mumbai victims, condemns Pakistan
Sarkozy pays tribute to Mumbai victims, condemns Pakistan
Sarkozy pays tribute to Mumbai victims, condemns Pakistan
MUMBAI, Dec 7, 2010 (AFP): French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned Pakistan Tuesday for allowing extremists "safe havens" in its tribal border areas, as he paid tribute to the victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Sarkozy, in Mumbai on the last day of a four-day visit to India, said it was "unacceptable" that terror networks could find refuge in Pakistan and use it as a springboard to attack India, French troops in Afghanistan or other countries.
"It is unacceptable that India's security can be threatened by groups of terrorists acting from neighbouring countries," he said at the Oberoi hotel, one of the luxury hotels besieged by militants in November 2008.
"It is unacceptable for Afghanistan and for our troops that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda find safe haven in the border regions of Pakistan. We know the price that the Pakistani people are paying for terrorism.
"But it is unacceptable for the world that terrorist acts should be masterminded and carried out by terrorist groups in Pakistan."
"I call on all Pakistani authorities to step up their efforts and show that they are resolute in combating these criminals," he added, vowing that "there will be no limit to operational co-operation" in counter-terrorism with India.
Sarkozy, accompanied by his wife Carla Bruni, earlier placed a wreath at a memorial in the south of the city for 18 police officers who lost their lives in the carnage.
The wave of attacks, which also targeted a Jewish centre, a popular tourist restaurant and the city's main railway station, killed 166 people in all, including two French nationals, and injured more than 300.
The deadly assault has been likened to those on the United States on September 11, 2001 and was blamed on the banned, Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), with help from elements in Pakistan's military.
Seven suspects of the Mumbai attacks have been put on trial in Pakistan, including alleged mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, but none has been convicted.
In a 2009 cable from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, released by WikiLeaks this week, she alleges that Lakhvi kept running the LeT even while in prison in Pakistan awaiting trial.
Sarkozy's comments on India's troubled neighbour mirror similar pronouncements made by US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron, who have both visited New Delhi in recent months.
Sarkozy pays tribute to Mumbai victims, condemns Pakistan
Sarkozy pays tribute to Mumbai victims, condemns Pakistan
MUMBAI, Dec 7, 2010 (AFP): French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned Pakistan Tuesday for allowing extremists "safe havens" in its tribal border areas, as he paid tribute to the victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Sarkozy, in Mumbai on the last day of a four-day visit to India, said it was "unacceptable" that terror networks could find refuge in Pakistan and use it as a springboard to attack India, French troops in Afghanistan or other countries.
"It is unacceptable that India's security can be threatened by groups of terrorists acting from neighbouring countries," he said at the Oberoi hotel, one of the luxury hotels besieged by militants in November 2008.
"It is unacceptable for Afghanistan and for our troops that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda find safe haven in the border regions of Pakistan. We know the price that the Pakistani people are paying for terrorism.
"But it is unacceptable for the world that terrorist acts should be masterminded and carried out by terrorist groups in Pakistan."
"I call on all Pakistani authorities to step up their efforts and show that they are resolute in combating these criminals," he added, vowing that "there will be no limit to operational co-operation" in counter-terrorism with India.
Sarkozy, accompanied by his wife Carla Bruni, earlier placed a wreath at a memorial in the south of the city for 18 police officers who lost their lives in the carnage.
The wave of attacks, which also targeted a Jewish centre, a popular tourist restaurant and the city's main railway station, killed 166 people in all, including two French nationals, and injured more than 300.
The deadly assault has been likened to those on the United States on September 11, 2001 and was blamed on the banned, Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), with help from elements in Pakistan's military.
Seven suspects of the Mumbai attacks have been put on trial in Pakistan, including alleged mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, but none has been convicted.
In a 2009 cable from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, released by WikiLeaks this week, she alleges that Lakhvi kept running the LeT even while in prison in Pakistan awaiting trial.
Sarkozy's comments on India's troubled neighbour mirror similar pronouncements made by US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron, who have both visited New Delhi in recent months.
