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Pakistan admits Mumbai bombing planned on its soil
Saeed Shah, McClatchy Newspapers
Issue date: 2/18/09 Section: News
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani officials took what could be a decisive step forward in the country's fight against Islamic extremism Thursday, publicly admitting for the first time that the Mumbai terrorist attacks were planned in and launched from Pakistan.
"Some part of the conspiracy has taken place in Pakistan," Rehman Malik, the top security official in the Interior Ministry, told a news conference in Islamabad. "I want to assure the international community, I want to assure all those who have been victims of terrorism, that we mean business."
Before the announcement, Pakistani officials had denied that there was any proof that its citizens were involved in the November Mumbai bombings, which killed some 170 people and pushed nuclear-armed Pakistan and India to the verge of war. Indian officials Thursday promptly welcomed the Pakistani admission as a "positive development."
The steps Malik outlined could be Islamabad's most serious action yet against militant groups, and they coincided with a visit this week from the Obama administration's new special envoy for Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke. Washington has long pressed Pakistan for tougher measures against extremists, but some Pakistani military and intelligence officials have been reluctant to take action against Islamist groups when they consider India to be Pakistan's main enemy.
Malik said that Pakistan has eight suspects in the Mumbai attacks, including the alleged mastermind, who are together accused of orchestrating the attacks. Six of the eight are in custody, and criminal cases were filed against them on Thursday. The interior ministry said that most, and possibly all, of the conspirators belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group that Indian officials have accused of carrying out the Mumbai carnage.
Malik said the ringleader, Hamad Amin Sadiq, a 38-year-old he described as the "main operator", was among those in custody. Sadiq wasn't previously named as a suspect. A resident of Karachi, he's originally from the southern Punjab province, a hotbed of Islamic militancy.
"Some part of the conspiracy has taken place in Pakistan," Rehman Malik, the top security official in the Interior Ministry, told a news conference in Islamabad. "I want to assure the international community, I want to assure all those who have been victims of terrorism, that we mean business."
Before the announcement, Pakistani officials had denied that there was any proof that its citizens were involved in the November Mumbai bombings, which killed some 170 people and pushed nuclear-armed Pakistan and India to the verge of war. Indian officials Thursday promptly welcomed the Pakistani admission as a "positive development."
The steps Malik outlined could be Islamabad's most serious action yet against militant groups, and they coincided with a visit this week from the Obama administration's new special envoy for Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke. Washington has long pressed Pakistan for tougher measures against extremists, but some Pakistani military and intelligence officials have been reluctant to take action against Islamist groups when they consider India to be Pakistan's main enemy.
Malik said that Pakistan has eight suspects in the Mumbai attacks, including the alleged mastermind, who are together accused of orchestrating the attacks. Six of the eight are in custody, and criminal cases were filed against them on Thursday. The interior ministry said that most, and possibly all, of the conspirators belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group that Indian officials have accused of carrying out the Mumbai carnage.
Malik said the ringleader, Hamad Amin Sadiq, a 38-year-old he described as the "main operator", was among those in custody. Sadiq wasn't previously named as a suspect. A resident of Karachi, he's originally from the southern Punjab province, a hotbed of Islamic militancy.
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