Pak denies role in Mumbai terror attacks

Pak denies role in Mumbai terror attacks
Press Trust of India
Thursday, November 27, 2008, (Islamabad, New Delhi)

With suspicion growing stronger about involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists in the Mumbai attacks, Islamabad on Thursday night said it had no role in the strikes and there should be no "knee-jerk" reaction by India."Pakistan played no role in the Mumbai attacks," Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said as investigators in Maharashtra suggested that Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) could be involved in the unprecedented strike."Earlier too, India had acted like this but later it proved wrong," he said.Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who is in India on a four-day visit, said New Delhi should refrain from any "knee-jerk" reaction and the two countries should jointly combat the scourge."Let us not jump to conclusions, let us not go in for knee-jerk reactions. The Samjhauta incident very clearly indicates that we have to be cautious in our expressions," he said in Chandigarh.The February 2007 Samjhauta Express blast in Panipat was earlier believed to have been carried out by Pakistan-based elements but investigators lately have suggested involvement of Hindu outfits.As investigations into the Mumbai attacks gained momentum, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the outfit responsible for the terror strike was based "outside" the country and warned the neighbours against allowing their territories to be used for launching attacks in India.Security agencies have sought to blame LeT, one of whose activists was captured alive in Trident hotel in Mumbai. He is said to be Abu Ismail hailing from Faridkot, Pakistan.