Pakistan has utilized terrorism as an instrument of State policy: PM

New Delhi, Jan 6 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today said that the recent terror attack on Mumbai was carried out by the Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and he was convinced that some official agencies in Pakistan must have supported them

Inaugurating the Chief Minister's conference on terror here, he said, "There is enough evidence to show that it must have the support of some official agencies there, given the sophistication and military precision of the attack."

Dr. Singh said Pakistan has utilized terrorism as an instrument of State policy.

"The Mumbai terror attack were carried out by foreign organization he said, and asserted that India stands united to defeat both the external and internal threat"."Dealing with internal security problems does not alter this dynamic. The situation may appear challenging but it is by no means beyond control. Concerns may exist that our defence mechanisms to thwart the numerous threats are inadequate," he said.

"There may be criticism that the range of the instruments that we possess to deal with internal security threats, are not sufficiently sophisticated," he added.

Dr Singh also highlighted his government's zero tolerance policy for terror.

He said the recent pattern of terrorist incidents suggests that increasingly the attacks have a pan-Indian and trans-national aspect and there is emphasis on mass causality attacks.

"Their communication has become state of the art, and therefore, it is necessary to come out with a comprehensive strategy that combines the best of technological and human capabilities to defeat terrorism," he added

Laying emphasis on better intelligence and sophisticated assessment and analysis of the inputs, Dr. Singh said there is a need to break down barriers to information sharing between various agencies.

"There are concentric circles of terrorism that often involve a combination of external forces backed by internal elements. There are still others, which are essentially indigenous in character," he added.

"While taking all the measures necessary to prevent terrorist attacks, we must simultaneously ensure that the concept of terrorism is delegitimized through better investigation and superior intelligence," he said.

"We must convince the world community that States that use terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy, must be isolated and compelled to abandon such tactics. We must engage vigorously in debates to press the point that 'soft' support for terrorism cannot any longer be endorsed," the Prime Minister added. (ANI)