Islamabad: Pakistan`s Interior Minister
Rehman Malik on Friday said the country`s spy agency ISI was not
involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 176 persons lost
their lives.
His comments came a week after Tahawwur Hussain Rana,
the Pakistani-Canadian accused in the Mumbai terror attack
case, had claimed before a US court that he provided support
to 26/11 terrorists at the behest of Pakistani government and
ISI.
Malik said Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was not
involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. He said if it had been
involved, the Pakistan government would not have taken the
matter to court.
Malik told a group of Indian journalists, brought here
by the Pakistani government, that Pakistan intended to send a
judicial commission to India to interview key persons involved
in the probe into the Mumbai attacks to gather evidence needed
to prosecute Pakistani suspects.
During the Home Secretary-level talks between India
and Pakistan held in New Delhi on March 28 and 29, the Indian
side agreed to the Pakistan`s proposal to send a commission to
India in connection with the 26/11 case. The Pakistani
delegation too reciprocated by agreeing to accept an Indian
commission to that country.
Malik said certain formalities for the commission
visit were still being worked out.
The minister said he had informed the Indian
authorities that there were enough indications that the
Taliban wanted to spread their tentacles to India. He,
however, did not give details.
Refereeing to the 2007 bombing of the Samjhauta
Express train that killed 42 Pakistanis, Malik underlined the
need for the Indian authorities to bring the perpetrators of
the attack to justice.
Besides, Malik proposed that the recent cricket
diplomacy should be followed by hockey diplomacy, with the
teams of two countries playing three games each on either side
of the border.
The minister said he intended to invite his Indian
counterpart P Chidambaram to watch one of the games in
Pakistan if the proposal is accepted.
Malik also lauded the role of Chidambaram in helping
improving the the ties between the two countries.
He said the blame game has ended following the recent
decision by India and Pakistan to resume the dialogue process.
PTI
