NEW DELHI/BOMBAY, 17 July 2006 — Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said yesterday that Pakistan must prevent militants from launching attacks across the border, after last week’s train blasts in Bombay that killed 200 people. “There has to be a firm commitment that Pakistani territory is not used to support terrorist acts directed against our country,” Manmohan said aboard his private plane as he headed to the Group of Eight summit in Saint Petersburg.
Manmohan outlined areas he will be focusing on at St. Petersburg at the outreach session with G-8 summit, scheduled for today. Welcoming the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the G-8 Summit host, to extend invitation to India, Brazil, China, Mexico, South Africa, Congo and Kazakhastan to participate in the outreach session, he said.
“It is our expectation that the St. Petersburg Summit will also provide a useful opportunity for discussions between the industrialized countries and major emerging economies of the world on issues such as security, world trade, terrorism and globalization.”
Drawing attention to the “tragic human cost” terrorism entails as “brought forth once again by the recent attacks in Bombay and Srinagar,” he said: “Terrorism is a scourge that continues to afflict different parts of the world. We will impress upon the leaders gathered at the G-8 Summit that the international community must adopt an approach of zero-tolerance for terrorism anywhere.
The international community must isolate and condemn terrorists wherever they attack, whatever their cause and whichever country or group provides them sustenance and support,” Manmohan said.
“But the commitment has to be backed by action on the ground,” Manmohan told reporters traveling with him, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency. Islamabad immediately denied Manmohan’s claim, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam telling AFP: “Pakistan does not allow its territory for any terrorist activity.” Manmohan’s strong statement came as Indian police said they had identified two suspects wanted for the train bombings, which rocked the country’s financial hub last Tuesday as commuters headed home during the evening rush hour.
Officers declined to give names or details about those they were looking for amid growing complaints over the failure to make any arrests five days after the blasts, which left 900 people injured.
“We have a couple of suspects. We’re not giving their names,” additional commissioner of police Jayjit Singh, responsible for the anti-terrorist squad, said. “We’re looking at so many people, so many theories are in mind.” Bombay police said they had picked up hundreds of people from different areas of the capital of Maharashtra state for questioning, and that “targeted” swoops were continuing.
Investigators say the identity of the attackers may be hazy but the method employed bore the hallmarks of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist group active in divided Kashmir, claimed in full by both India and Pakistan.
The group, banned by both countries and accused by New Delhi of carrying out other attacks on India, has denied responsibility for the Bombay blasts. After visiting the injured in Bombay hospitals last week, the prime minister said the seven coordinated blasts were carried out with help from “elements across the border,” in a reference to Pakistan.
Reports have suggested easily obtained dynamite could have been used, instead of high-grade explosive usually used by foreign terrorist groups, raising the possibility of a greater role for home-grown suspects.
The attacks have already taken a toll on the India-Pakistan peace process, with New Delhi saying it was still deciding on dates for talks with Islamabad, which had been expected to take place this week.
Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, the top bureaucrat in his ministry, told reporters Saturday that terrorist attacks are eroding the India-Pakistan peace process, begun in 2004. “Every time something like this happens, it undermines public confidence” in the peace process, Saran said. “Anger is generated,” he said. “It is becoming very difficult to take the process forward.”
Meanwhile, an Indian television news channel, Aaj Tak, reported yesterday it received an ambiguous and unsubstantiated claim of responsibility for the blasts. In the most serious fallout of the blasts, India formally told Pakistan it was postponing talks scheduled for July 20 between Saran and his Pakistani counterpart to review the progress of the peace talks, a foreign ministry official said. No new date has been set, said the official on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. Pakistan has not responded to the development.
Indian leaders have become increasingly worried that violence is spreading to the rest of the country from Kashmir, the Himalayan region at the heart of India-Pakistan enmity. In unusually blunt comments that effectively put the brakes on the peace process, Manmohan said the Bombay bombers had support from inside Pakistan.
— With input from agencies
