Zardari appeals India not to punish Pakistan

This news updete by geo.tv

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, made an urgent appeal to India yesterday not to punish his country for the terror unleashed on Mumbai last week, as Indian officials blamed a Pakistani militant group for the three-day rampage.

As the government in New Delhi faced mounting domestic pressure to respond forcefully to the attacks, Mr Zardari urged Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, to resist striking out at his government should investigations show that Pakistani militant groups were responsible.

His appeal came as tensions rose between the two countries. A day after the security forces finally regained control of Mumbai, Indian officials blamed Lashkar-i-tayyaba, a prominent militant group linked to previous attacks against India. Its name translates as Army of the Pure.

Speaking to the Financial Times, President Zardari warned that provocation by rogue "non-state actors" posed the danger of a return to war between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

"Even if the militants are linked to Lashkar-i-tayyaba, who do you think we are fighting?" asked Mr Zardari, whose country is battling al-Qaeda and Taliban militants on its border with Afghanistan.


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