By NNN-APP,
Washington : Pakistan’s democratic government will “put out of business” any group which is held responsible for last week’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed nearly 200 people and led to new tensions between India and Pakistan, Ambassador Husain Haqqani said Monday night.
Appearing on anchorman Charlie Rose’s talk show on Public Television System (PBS), Haqqani reaffirmed his government’s determination to take strong action so that the name of Pakistan is no longer associated with militancy.
But, he said, the investigation should be allowed to be completed before jumping to conclusions. “The 9/11 attackers came from several different countries with which the United States has good relations; no one blamed the governments of those countries.”
If any Pakistani group was identified as the culprit, Haqqani said “the government of Pakistan will put it out of business.”
“The new government of Pakistan is trying to get its hands around this problem,” the ambassador said, pointing out that President Asif Ali Zardari took over only three months ago when the country was faced with severe economic crisis, the Taliban insurgency in the North West Frontier Province and a host of other problems.
“Pakistan is a victim of terrorism, India is a victim of terrorism, we need to put the burden of history behind us, work together and make sure that both us get rid of this terrorist menace that afflicts both our countries.” Pakistan was prepared to take a “giant leap forward” in forging relations with India.
“We do not consider India as an enemy. We consider India as a neighbour with which we have had disagreements”, Haqqani said, adding, “Let us not follow the old pattern.”
About the reported links between Pakistani intelligence agencies and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba—the group accused of master-minding the attacks in Mumbai — the ambassador said that was in the past. The situation had changed as the new government had done away with the old policies. “”That era is now over,” he added.