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ISLAMABAD
- Pakistan on Wednesday hit back at India over allegations that Pakistani state
institutions were involved in the Mumbai attacks.
Dismissing
India’s claim that the arrest of 26/11 handler Sayeed Zabiuddin Ansari, also
known as Abu Hamza and Abu Jindal, and the information he has provided to
interrogators, proved that Pakistani state actors were involved in Mumbai
attacks, Advisor to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik said “Hazma is
Indian. India is failing to control its citizens.”
Malik
reacted sharply, stating, “Each time India has accused the ISI of involvement
in a terror attack, it has been proved wrong.” Malik said India’s charges
against the ISI were baseless. He said the intelligence agency was protecting
Pakistan and was not involved in carrying out terror strikes.
“I
told (Home Minister) Chidambaram that Hindu extremism is growing in India,” he
told a news conference in Islamabad.
To
another question, Malik said all the procedural formalities were being
completed on the directions of the Interior Ministry for the release of Indian
prisoner Surjeet Singh within next 24 hours while the ministry is looking into
the legal intricacies on a mercy petition of another Indian inmate, Sarabjit
Singh. Malik said Surjeet was being released as a goodwill gesture towards the
neighbouring country.
According
to a source in the Interior Ministry, a joint secretary level officer of the
ministry will hand over Surjeet Sigh to Indian authorities today (Thursday) at
Wagha Border after his release from Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore.
However,
Mr Malik clarified that neither the government had neither decided to release
Sarabjit Singh, also Indian prisoner facing death sentence on terrorism charges
in Pakistan, nor to pardon him. He said that the Interior Ministry was looking
into the mercy petition of Mr Singh as it contained some legal complexities and
it had not even been forwarded to the President for final decision. “However,
When PPP came into power, it had announce to suspend the death sentences of all
prisoners till further orders,” he informed reporters adding that these legal
issues would have to be addressed before his release and a summary would be
sent to President Asif Ali Zardari for final decision after due deliberations
with Law Ministry.
Agencies
add: India’s home minister on Wednesday said Abu Hamza had provided information
confirming Pakistani ‘state support’ for the deadly assault. Chidambaram,
speaking to reporters in the Indian southern state of Kerala, said police
interrogation of Hamza had confirmed Indian accusations that Pakistani state
actors were also involved.
“The
argument that non-state actors were behind the massacre is no longer valid. He
has confirmed that he was in the control room (and) this has confirmed our
suspicion that there was some organised effort,” Chidambaram said. “When I say,
state actors, at the moment, I am not pointing my finger at any particular
agency.
Meanwhile,
India on Wednesday demanded Pakistan to release Sarabjit Singh on immediate
basis. India’s Foreign Minister SM Krishna, while talking to media, said that
Pakistan should sympathetically consider Sarabjit Singh’s case. He said that
all the Indian prisoners who had completed their sentence should be released by
Pakistan.
Indian
Foreign Minister said that India welcomed the release of Surjeet Singh.
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