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Pakistan will be asked for Mumbai blasts suspects

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: India will test Pakistan’s commitment to the joint terror mechanism by asking it to produce suspects in the serial blasts in Mumbai for interrogation, National Security Adviser MK Narayanan said on Tuesday.

In an interview to a private Indian TV channel, Narayanan said the mechanism would test Pakistan’s commitment, not just to the dialogue process, but also on restricting cross-border terrorism.

Narayanan – a top aide of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh – is involved in formulation of the joint mechanism proposal, and therefore the remarks are being seen in India as “from the horse’s mouth”.

He reiterated Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon’s remarks that names of suspects in Pakistan would be sent to Islamabad when received from the Mumbai Police. “A lot of information was provided to the centre through the investigation done by the Mumbai police – particularly the Anti-Terrorism Squad. I don’t know the exact specifics that have been given in the interrogation (report) – but supposing they have given particular addresses, telephone numbers, particular linkages – some of these have to be investigated and obviously this cannot be done by the Indian side,” said Narayanan.

“If Pakistan is willing, they will help identify and locate these individuals and contacts, they will follow up this evidence and not just come back to us every time saying ‘this isn’t true’. Then it would be in the spirit of what President Musharraf told our prime minister,” he said. Narayanan quoted President Musharraf as saying that Pakistan was willing to cooperate with India in the manner that it had cooperated with the British. He added that India is hoping that Pakistan will do so, “and then go through the normal process of the law”. Narayanan’s remark — the only official reaction so far to Pakistan Foreign Office spokeswomann’s contention that her government would act on proof in the Mumbai blasts case but would not hand over suspects — is seen as an assertion that the suspects will have to be sent to India for interrogation and trial. The normal process of law Narayanan mentioned was the trial of the suspects in India, which cannot take place unless Pakistan arrests them and hands them over to the Indian authorities.

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