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7/11 blast suspects’ names to be handed over to Pak
Under the Havana Joint Anti-Terror
Mechanism, evidence of the suspects'
involvement in the Mumbai blasts will
be handed over to the Pakiistan
Government by India.
BY OUR POLITICS CORRESPONDENT
October 4, 2006
The Indian government will hand over the list of names of the suspects involved in the Mumbai blasts to Pakistan soon. The related evidences also will be handed over via the mutually agreed joint anti-terror mechanism.
According to Mumbai police statistics, the blasts of July 11 had left around 200 people dead. Eleven Pakistani nationals are suspected to have been directly involved in the serial explosions. The police suspect that the blasts were the handiwork of Pakistan’s ISI, carried out by Lashkar-e-Toiba with Students Movement of India (SIMI) assistance. Azam Cheema, the Lashkar-e-Toiba commander in Pakistan's Bahawalput, is believed to behind the conspiracy.
Two of the Pakistanis involved have died. However, the whereabouts of the remaining are yet to be ascertained. With the Pakistan top brass totally rejecting Mumbai police’s claims that ISI is behind the tragedy, and its refusal to handover any suspects, India has long road ahead of its initiatives to bring the suspects to trial.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the meantime has said that Pakistan should act on evidence of its involvement in bomb attacks on trains in Mumbai in July. The Indian Prime Minister said that the evidence of Pakistani involvement will be offered to Islamabad through the joint mechanism. Singh said all the discoveries by the Mumbai police would be shared with the Pakistan government so that something concrete would evolve in the race towards peace.
Recalling that a joint statement issued by India and Pakistan had condemned the Mumbai blasts and had also said that that the two countries will work to control the menace of terrorism, Singh said the joint mechanism to deal with terrorism would help in getting Pakistan’s response regarding the issue.
Meanwhile, the United States has suggested that India should discuss issues relating to Islamabad's involvement in the Mumbai blasts directly with Pakistan. “India should communicate with Pakistan by having direct contact instead of talking about the Mumbai train blasts in the public," suggested Ryan C Crocker, US Ambassador to Pakistan.
If relations between the two countries are to get back to normal, the Indian and Pakistani governments should engage in deliberations on the issues that exist between them, including the Kashmir dispute, felt the US Ambassador. He hoped that both the countries would keep all their channels open to rectify their misunderstandings.
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