New Delhi, December 14
As the international community tightened the noose around Islamabad on the issue of terrorism, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today asserted that Pakistan has “a lot to answer for” the heinous terrorist attack on Mumbai recently.
Brown arrived here on an unscheduled visit last night from Kabul and held a breakfast meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today to convey his condolences to India over the gruesome incidents in Mumbai.
Official sources said India shared with Brown the clinching evidence suggesting the involvement of elements in Pakistan in the tragic events in Mumbai from November 26-29 in which about 180 persons were killed. Three Britons were among the dead. Details of the confession made by the sole surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab to the Mumbai police were also shared with the British Prime Minister.
A brief statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said Manmohan Singh and Brown discussed issues of mutual interest and concern, including the situation in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, international economic situation and status of the negotiations in the ongoing Doha round of trade talks.
The sources, however, stated that the Mumbai terror attacks dominated the discussions between the two leaders. Backing New Delhi’s charge that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was behind the Mumbai
carnage, Brown told his Indian counterpart that his country was prepared to assist India in whatever manner possible to deal with the tragedy.
Singh is understood to have conveyed to the British leader that Pakistan’s action against militant groups operating from its territory was just not sufficient as these groups could any time start operating again in the neighbouring country with other names as they had done in the past after major terror strikes in India. The international community must apply more pressure on Pakistan to force it to wind up the militant training camps being run on its territory, dismantle the terrorist infrastructure and hand over to New Delhi the fugitives wanted in India for indulging in heinous crimes.
Brown is learnt to have told the Indian leader that he would convey India’s concerns to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari during his visit to Islamabad later in the day.
Talking briefly to reporters after his meeting with Singh, Brown said the Mumbai attacks had brought “the whole world” in support of India. He stressed that the international community has to ensure that there are “no safe havens for terrorists and no hiding places for those who finance terror attacks”.
“We know the group responsible is LeT and they (Pakistan) have a great deal to answer for,” Brown added when asked whether Pakistan was doing enough to crackdown on anti-terror outfits working against India.
Brown, second top foreign leader to visit India after the Mumbai attacks, assured India of the support of the international community in dealing with the situation. Earlier this month, Russian President Dmitry Madvedev had visited New Delhi on a scheduled visit.
“I have told the Prime Minister that India has the support of the whole world. We will work together in tackling terrorism. We will work together to build international support in tackling terrorism,” the British leader added.
“We will work together on issues of security. You will get support of many members of the international community. I wanted to come to India and give my condolences first hand at this terrible outrage in Mumbai that has shocked the world,” he said.
“The whole world will have to come together to ensure that there are no safe havens for terrorists and no hiding places for those who finance terror attacks,” he said while praising the “resilience and resolve of the Indian people” in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks.
“We got to attack the finances of terrorists. We got to expose perverse and unacceptable messages that are sent by terrorist groups that are perversions of religions and faiths,” he said.
“We see the consequences of terrorism in that country. That’s why we are so determined to fight it,” he replied when asked whether the India-Pakistan tensions will impact the offensive against Taliban in Afghanistan.
