Islamabad, Dec 01: Pakistan on Monday said it is yet to
"see evidence" backing India's allegations of a Pakistani link
to the terror strikes in Mumbai but promised to "act
responsibly" on the issue.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also expressed the hope
that there will be no escalation in tensions between India and
Pakistan in the aftermath of the attacks.
"I think it will be the other way round. It will not
escalate because some responsible people have owned
responsibility for the intelligence failure," he said in an
apparent reference to the resignation of Home Minister Shivraj
Patil.
Gilani demanded that India should provide evidence before
levelling any allegations about Pakistan's involvement in the
Mumbai attacks. "We have yet to see evidence," he told CNN.
Pakistan will "act responsibly" in the wake of the
attacks, Gilani said.
His comments came as US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice said America expects Pakistan to extend total cooperation
to India in the investigations into the attack.
Islamabad had also begun consultations with other
countries to defuse the situation, the Prime Minister said.
"We have talked to all our friends that they use their
good offices to defuse the situation," he said.
He said the Mumbai attacks were "something unusual" and
the people in India were in a state of anger.
"They were in a state of mind which one can expect at
that time. They said in anger something, but now the dust has
settled down," he added.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, December 01, 2008, 00:00