India/Pakistan

Delhi demands 20 most wanted, Islamabad offers joint probe

Article published on the 2008-12-02 Latest update 2008-12-02 16:10 TU

India's President Pratibha Patil visits victims in Mumbai
(Photo: Reuters)

India on Tuesday demanded that Pakistan hand over 20 people allegedly linked to last week's attacks in Mumbai, which killed 188 people and injured over 300. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he has offered a joint investigation team, but he failed to respond to the handover call.

Qureshi said that both governments should show "maturity, seriousness and patience", after the Indian government's charges that the Mumbai attacks were planned in Pakistan.

But he made no comment on Delhi’s demand to hand over the 20 people, though other ministers have said that the government is examining the list. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani demanded proof of India's allegation that all the attackers were Pakistani.

The Indian most wanted list includes Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba. The Islamist group, which has denied responsibility for the attacks, is regularly accused of launching attacks in India. Saeed is said to have received funds from Pakistani intelligence and Saudi sources when it was founded, but Islamabad banned the group in 2002.

Also on the list are Maulana Masood Azhar, who leads another Islamist armed group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and underworld boss Dawood Ibrahim, who Pakistan denies is on its soil.

Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday announced that his country is not considering military action against Pakistan, after Islamabad said that it may move troops to the border in the light of the tension.

Veteran Pakistani peace campaigner Pervez Hoodboy believes that the attackers wanted to provoke anti-Muslim violence in India in order to swell their own ranks.

He belives that India should try not to inflame the situation.

"On the Indian side I think it’s very important to tone down the rhetoric and realise that Pakistan is not fully in control of itself, that within the army there are possibly rogue elements and that even the Pakistan army doesn’t control good parts of the country," he told RFI.

"On the Pakistan side I think Pakistan should crack down on these numerous jihadist movements that exist … across the length and breadth of the country."

The US TV stations CNN and ABC have reported that the US warned India in October that hotels and business centres in Mumbai would be targeted by attackers coming from the sea.

The six Israelis killed when the attackers seized a Jewish centre were buried in Jerusalem Tuesday, with thousands in attendance.