Attack in Mumbai had roots in Pakistan, Islamabad admits

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - About 2 1/2 months after the Mumbai terror attack, Pakistan acknowledged for the first time Thursday that Pakistani soil was used to plot and launch the deadly rampage.

The senior official in Pakistan's Interior Ministry, Rehman Malik, also said at a news conference that six of nine identified Mumbai conspirators were in custody, including the suspected ringleaders, and that criminal proceedings had begun against them. Another of those charged, the sole survivor of the attack, Ajmal Amir Kasab, is in Indian custody.

Malik's disclosures echoed some assertions made by Indian investigators as the siege was unfolding over three days in November: that the attackers set out for Mumbai from the Pakistani port of Karachi after having been trained and armed in Pakistan.

"Some part of the conspiracy has taken place in Pakistan," Malik acknowledged at the news conference. He pinned the blame for the attack fully on "nonstate actors," denying India's claim that Pakistan's security services had some involvement in the attacks.

He said Pakistan's investigation had confirmed the involvement of the outlawed Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India has blamed for the attack. Those in custody include two alleged Lashkar leaders, Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah. Another suspect, Javed Iqbal, was "lured" back from Barcelona, Spain, where he had been living, and arrested, Malik said.

"Pakistan's response on the Mumbai attacks demonstrates its commitment to bringing those responsible to justice," he said.

Malik reiterated Pakistani requests that India provide more evidence to help secure convictions. "Let us work for it together because we want these culprits to be brought to justice," he said. But he said that all the accused would be prosecuted in Pakistan, blocking an Indian demand for extradition.

In New Delhi, India's Foreign Ministry called Pakistan's report "a positive development" and said that it "will now examine the issues raised in the response by Pakistan."

"It remains India's goal to bring the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai to book, and to follow this process through to the end. We would also expect that the government of Pakistan take credible steps to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan," the ministry said.