PM accuses Pak of using terrorism as policy tool

Launching an attack on Pakistan for its alleged complicity in the recent Mumbai terror attacks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today blamed Islamabad for using terror as an instrument of state policy.

Singh said given the sophistication and military precision of the attacks, some Pakistani official agency must have been involved in supporting the terrorists who struck in Mumbai on November 26.

The prime minister, addressing a meeting of chief ministers on internal security, said “security situation in the neighbourhood was not conducive and some of the regimes were very fragile.’’ He also made a veiled attack on Bangladesh for harbouring insurgents from north-eastern states.

While Singh said it was time to set up a crisis management group at the top level to handle situations like the Mumbai attacks, Home Minister P Chidambaram said there was no alternative to the beat constable’s role in gathering intelligence. He outlined two major tasks for chief ministers — strengthen police forces and set up own units to fight terrorism.

“As seasoned administrators, you will agree with me that nothing of consequence can happen within the jurisdiction of a police station without the knowledge of the station house officer,’’ Chidambaram said. He pointed out the dismal state of affairs saying huge vacancies in police (as on August 31, 2007) — constables:1,13,779; sub-inspectors:18,654; and deputy superintendents of police: 2,099 — would only create hurdles in the national strategy to fight terrorism.

He briefed the chief ministers on the recent steps taken by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to combat the threat from terrorists in the wake of Mumbai strikes. The home minister said the Centre was already working on putting to use technologies like crime and criminals tracking network (CCTV) and global positioning systems.

Although Chidambaram said the Centre was working to identify places to create special hubs of National Security Guards, it would be better for states to raise their own special anti-terrorist forces. Pakistan, meanwhile, dismissed as “not credible” the evidence provided by India on the Mumbai terror attacks, hours after a presidential aide termed as “premature” 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 provided by India yesterday.