No firm proof attackers were from Pak: Zardari

ON THE TERROR TRAIL

President Asif Ali Zardari has said there is still no "real evidence" that the terrorists who attacked Mumbai came from Pakistan, nor had it been established that the lone arrested attacker Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab hailed from the country's Punjab province.

"Have you seen any evidence to that effect. I have definitely not seen any real evidence to that effect," Zardari told BBC in an interview.

Zardari, who earlier acknowledged that the perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage of November 26 could be 'non-state' actors from Pakistan, made these remarks while responding to a question on assertions from India, US, Britain and other countries that the 10 terrorists who struck at Mumbai came from Pakistan.

On being told that the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown as well as Indian and Western intelligence agencies had stated that the Mumbai attack had originated from Pakistan, Zardari said: "Investigation is an evolving process. It has not been long enough for anybody to... Even the foreign minister of India has said they are still investigating.

"I think we will hold that judgement till proper investigation and conclusive evidence is shared between Pakistan and India. We are hoping that will happen because we have asked for a joint investigation."