Mumbai gunman admits being from Pakistan
The only surviving Mumbai massacre gunman has personally stated he is Pakistani in the face of efforts by Islamabad to distance itself from the terror attack.
Mohammed Ajmal Kasab wrote a letter that has been handed over to Pakistan that he and the nine others who shot dead more than 160 people all came from the country.
He also asked to meet Pakistani envoys, the Indian foreign ministry said.
Pakistan has not acknowledged that Kasab is a citizen and has said it is waiting for proof of his citizenship before it will take further action.
The investigation into the attacks has heightened tensions between India and Pakistan
Now that it has Kasab’s letter Pakistan faces pressure to answer to India’s demands that it turn over wanted leaders of the Pakistan-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, accused of plotting the attacks.
“We are examining the letter,” Pakistan High Commission spokesman Abid Saeed said late Monday.
Pakistan has moved against both Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawam, a charity India and the international community say is a front for Lashkar, but has refused to take further action until it has proof of Pakistani involvement. Islamabad has not acknowledged that Kasab is Pakistani, saying it has had no confirmation of his citizenship.
Kasab is the only gunman to survive the three-day standoff with police that followed the attack on two luxury hotels, a train station, a Jewish centre and other sites in India’s bustling commercial capital.
Calling Lashkar-e-Taiba an international threat, India’s foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee again urged tough action.
“This terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan is the greatest terrorist danger to peace and security of the entire civilised world,” he said.
“We have so far acted with utmost restraint and are hopeful that (the) international community will use its influence to urge (the) Pakistani government to take effective action.”
Pakistan’s foreign minister has said Islamabad is prepared to co-operate, but must heed its own laws.
