Pakistan asks India for more evidence on 26/11 Mumbai attacks

Pakistan on Thursday demanded more evidence from India on the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in order to bring the case to its "logical end", the Foreign Office spokesperson said here.

"Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry has written a letter to concerned authorities across the border and has demanded further details regarding the evidence linking Pakistan to the attacks," spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said, adding that "Islamabad would bring the Mumbai attacks case to its logical end."

Zakaria said the response from the Indian side is still awaited. But the spokesperson did not elaborate when exactly the letter was written.

Pakistan had arrested seven Lashkar-e-Toiba linked terrorists, including presumed mastermind of the 26/11 attacks Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, for their role in the 2008 attacks in which 166 people were killed and over 350 injured.

Lakhvi, who is living at an undisclosed location in Pakistan, was released from jail on bail last year. The other six suspects are lodged in a Rawalpindi jail.

India has been urging Pakistan to complete the trial at the earliest. It has said that enough evidence has been shared with Islamabad to prosecute the accused.

However, Pakistani officials say India has not provided enough evidence needed to successfully complete the trial.

Responding to Indian Prime Ministers Narendra Modi's interview to the TimesNow news channel, Zakariya said the civil and military leadership of Pakistan were on the same page.

"The Pakistani nation feels proud of its armed forces."

Modi in his interview to the TV news channel earlier this week asserted that there were different types of forces operating in Pakistan and it was difficult to ascertain whom to engage in dialogue.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office spokesperson said that the only way to resolve tensions between India and Pakistan was through dialogue. He stated that Islamabad was ready to hold dialogue with New Delhi.

"It has been said many times earlier that peace talks is the only way forward for relations between Pakistan and India," he said.

--IANS

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