India/Pakistan

Delhi welcomes Islamabad's probe into Mumbai attacks

Article published on the 2009-02-12 Latest update 2009-02-12 15:51 TU

Rehman Malik shows pictures of trawlers used by the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks
(Photo: Reuters)

India has welcomed Pakistan's admission that part of the planning on last year's attacks in Mumbai took place on its territory. In Islamabad on Thursday Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said that six people have been arrested and that a special investigation is under way.

Delhi welcomed Islamabad's lodging of a "first information report" with police, based on information provided by India but called on Pakistan to dismantle the "infrastructure of terrorism".

The Pakistanis have filed a case against eight suspects, six of whom are in custody and Rehman on Thursday told a press conference that "part of the conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan".

India's Foreign Ministry dubbed the move "a positive development".

"It remains India's goal to bring the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai to book, and to follow this process through to the end," the Foreign Ministry statement said.

"We would also expect that the government of Pakistan take credible steps to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan."

India blames the attacks, which killed at least 165 people, on the Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Off the record Indian officials are sceptical about the Pakistani declaration, says Delhi-based reporter Vikram Roy.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has publicly blames Pakistani intelligence agencies, he told RFI, and Delhi wants to suspects handed over to stand trial.

“Pakistan says that it will never hand over any of its citizens to India," says Roy. "Not only because there is no extradition treaty but because  Pakistan says that they  have their own system of justice that is adequate enough to handle terrorism.”