By IANS,
Islamabad/New Delhi : Pakistan Monday reiterated its sincerity in bringing the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks to justice, saying India should assist in the process instead of making allegations on Islamabad’s intentions.
“India should not doubt our sincerity in handling this case. Instead of levelling allegations they should provide us with concrete proof so that we could take this case forward in a meaningful way,” Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit told BBC radio in an interview.
“We want to make it clear to India that this is a purely judicial matter and the governments of Pakistan and India cannot do anything about this,” he added.
“Only the court can take a decision on the dossiers,” he maintained, and pointed out that court proceedings had begun against five culprits involved in the Mumbai attack.
“The matter is now in the court and it is incorrect to comment on this,” the spokesperson contended.
About the comments of Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Pakistan’s “unwillingness” to prosecute Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed, who New Delhi says is the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, Basit termed this against the spirit of the Sharm-al Sheikh joint declaration between the Pakistani and Indian prime ministers.
Speaking to TV news channel NDTV in New Delhi, Chidambaram said: “(While) covering up is a very strong word, there is for some strange reason (an) unwillingness to take investigation forward (by Pakistan).”
The home minister’s statement came after Pakistan rebuffed the sixth and latest dossier as being a “rehash” of earlier information on Saeed and which was deemed inadequate to start a prosecution.
Revealing details of what India had given in the dossiers, Chidambaram said: “We know when (lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Amir) Kasab first met Hafiz Saeed and where. We know what Hafiz Saeed told the trainees. We know at least a couple of places where the training took place and that Hafez visited those training camps.”
Further, India has also said Hafiz Saeed had given the terrorists aliases as well as tested their skills.
“We know that he (Saeed) was accompanied by a person described as major general sahib. Hafiz Saeed told this person to set up 10 targets. Kasab fired at target number 4,” said Chidambaram.
He added that Saeed had made the “farewell call” and also issued the “final instructions” to the 10 terrorists in the Nov 26-29, 2008 Mumbai attacks that claimed the lives of over 170 people, including 26 foreigners.