World - Pak says evidence given to it on Mumbai attack "not credible"

Rezaul H Laskar

Pakistan on Tuesday dismissed as "not credible" evidence provided by India to it on the Mumbai terror attacks, hours after a Presidential aide termed as "premature" local media reports that suggested the material given by New Delhi was insufficient.

Addressing the Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, Minister of
State for Foreign Affairs Malik Amad Khan and Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir questioned the credibility of the
evidence on the Mumbai attacks provided by India on Monday.

They claimed that India had not given any "credible evidence" about the Mumbai incident. Pakistan wants credible information in accordance with the law, they said.

The dossier submitted by India had some details that were "not credible", Bashir said during the session that was open to the media.

Their remarks came shortly after Presidential spokesman Farahtullah Babar described as "premature" reports in a
section of the Pakistani media which said the information handed over by India was insufficient and could not serve as the basis for action by Pakistan.

In an apparent reference to India's demand for Pakistan to hand over terror suspects linked to the Mumbai attacks, Bashir said there was no extradition treaty between the two countries.

Referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's comments that the Mumbai incident had the support of Pakistan's
official agencies, Bashir said the remarks had made the regional situation "more tense".

Bashir accused India of pushing the region towards war. If India takes any military action against Pakistan, it would be its "biggest mistake", he said.

Khan and Bashir also charged India with being responsible for escalating tensions on the basis of the Mumbai attacks. The Minister of State described the situation in the region as "very tense".

He accused India of making efforts to isolate Pakistan in the international community. Pakistan has countered this by "forcefully" presenting its position before the world, Khan added.

Khan also claimed that India had not pulled back its forces from forward bases. He said it was unfortunate that India was pointing a finger at Pakistan's official agencies after initially blaming "non-state actors" for the Mumbai incident.