India tells Pak 26/11 attack a symptom of a larger problem

New Delhi, Feb. 25 (ANI): India on Thursday said that it had told Pakistan that the Mumbai attack was a symptom of a larger problem - that of the continued existence and unhindered activities of organisations, such as Lashkar-e-Toiba/ Jamaat ud Dawa, Hizb ul Mujahideen etc. from Pakistani territory and territory under Pakistan's control to perpetrate terrorist violence against India.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told media persons here after her talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir that: "This was an ample evidence during the rallies held by these organisations in major cities of Pakistan and PoK on February 5, which openly incited terrorist violence against India."

"It was emphasized that the Government of India could not but take a serious note of such actions as it was duty bound to ensure the security of its citizens. We said it was the duty of Government of Pakistan to take effective action to dismantle and put an end to the activities of all such organizations," Ms. Rao added.

She further informed through her statement that the issue of terrorist infiltration and ceasefire violations across the Line of Control and International Border had also taken up.

"We called upon Pakistan to investigate the claim made by a hitherto unknown organisation, Lashkar-e-Toiba Al Almi and a separate claim by Ilyas Kahmiri's owning responsibility for the recent Pune blast. Additional information on terrorist activities against India emanating from Pakistan was also handed over to the Pakistani side for investigation and appropriate action," Ms. Rao said.

"I told the Pakistan Foreign Secretary that we have all along believed in the approach to resolve all outstanding issues between the two countries through bilateral dialogue in an atmosphere free of terror and violence. If we are to build upon the past discussions at an appropriate time, trust and confidence between us must be restored," she said.

"We have set out to take a first step towards rebuilding trust and I believe my meeting with the Pakistan Foreign Secretary has constituted that first step. We have agreed to remain in touch nd continue endeavour to restore trust. It was also decided to address urgent humanitarian matters," she said. (ANI)