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Pakistan Urged To Take Action

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The New York Times

Published: December 2, 2008

MUMBAI, India - In a new sign of rising tensions between two nuclear-armed neighbors, Indian foreign ministry officials summoned Pakistan's ambassador Monday evening and told him Pakistanis were responsible and must be punished for last week's terrorist attacks here, in which 172 people were killed over three days in the heart of India's commercial capital.

India also suggested that the planners of the attacks are still at large in Pakistan, saying India expected "strong action would be taken" by Pakistan against those responsible for the violence, according to a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs. The 10 men who appear to have carried out the attacks are now dead or in custody.

The statement added that Pakistan's actions need "to match the sentiments expressed by its leadership that it wishes to have a qualitatively new relationship with India."

It was not clear whether India had supplied Pakistan with any proof of its claims. Pakistani officials have said they are not aware of any links to Pakistan-based militants, and that they would act swiftly if they found such a link.

The Indian government is facing strong criticism at home for its handling of the attacks, and with elections just months away, it could risk being accused of diverting public anger from its failures if it does not furnish evidence for its claims. But there is also a groundswell of popular anger aimed at Pakistan.

On Monday, the outcry pushed the chief minister of Maharashtra State, Vilasrao Deshmukh, to offer his resignation. Party leaders were still considering his offer Monday night.

The attacks have raised tensions between the two countries to a level not seen since 2001, when a suicide attack on the Indian parliament pushed them to the brink of war. The atmosphere poses a special challenge for the United States, a strong ally of India that depends on Pakistan for cooperation in fighting al-Qaida. Renewed tensions between India and Pakistan could distract Pakistan from that project.

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is expected to arrive in India on Wednesday. In London on Monday, she called on Pakistan "to follow the evidence wherever it leads," adding "I don't want to jump to any conclusions myself on this, but I do think that this is a time for complete, absolute, total transparency and cooperation."

The foreign ministry's claim that the attackers were all Pakistani echoes a claim by the one attacker who was captured alive, identified as Ajmal Amir Qasab, said Inspector Rakesh Maria, head of crime control for the Mumbai police.

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