US confirms Pakistan role in Mumbai attacks

6 Dec 2008, 1556 hrs IST, TIMESOFINDIA

NEW DELHI: The United States has confirmed to India that Pakistan's military and intelligence chiefs have effectively admitted that the terrorists involved in last weeks
terror attacks in Mumbai were Pakistani nationals and members of terrorist outfit the Lashkar-e-Taiba, according to a Times Now report.

Chairman of US joint chiefs of staff admiral Michael Mullen made the revelations to national security advisor MK Narayanan and defence minister AK Antony.

Mullen told Indian government officials that he had told Pakistan that the US had evidence that the terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks were Pakistani nationals and members of LeT.
Earlier, Mullen had asked Pakistan's top leadership to "investigate aggressively any and all possible ties to groups based in Pakistan", the US embassy said in a statement.

While taking note of the recent success of Pakistani security forces in operations against militants on the Afghan border, Mullen "also encouraged Pakistani leaders to take more and more concerted action against militant extremists elsewhere in the country", the statement said.

India has blamed Pakistan-based elements, including the outlawed Lashker-e-Taiba terror group, for carrying out the attacks and asked Pakistani authorities to act against them.

President Zardari has denied Pakistan's involvement in the attacks and called on India to furnish evidence to substantiate its accusations.

Pakistani media reported that Zardari and other leaders told Mullen that Pakistan is not involved in any way in the Mumbai attacks. Pakistan is ready to cooperate in the probe into the attacks provided India shares evidence with it, they said.

The US is concerned about the impact of tensions on the war on terror as Pakistan has threatened to divert troops from the Afghan border to the frontier with India if the situation worsens.

Pakistan is a key supply route for US troops in Afghanistan. American officials also fear that the diversion of troops from the Afghan border could fuel cross-border raids by the Pakistani Taliban.