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Musharraf says Pak had no role in London bombings

Source:PTI
August 09, 2005 10:32 IST

Rejecting suggestions that Pakistan had played a 'pivotal' role in the July suicide bombings in London, President Pervez Musharraf has accused the British government of being too soft on extremist activities on its soil.

Though he admitted that the 2 suspected bombers had visited Pakistan before the July 7 attacks, Musharraf insisted that they were radicalised in Britain and not in his country.

Also read: The London Blasts

"Pakistan has not played a pivotal role. There is no such evidence to prove that," Musharraf told British Broadcasting Corporation 2 documentary 'The New Al Qaeda'.

He admitted Pakistani officials had found 'some clues on certain contacts of telephone numbers that they (suspected bombers) contacted' in the country.

"There were two of the bombers who came here and when they came here who they contacted we are trying to find out and then we will be able to establish clearly, linkages," he said.
     
Asserting that radicalisation of the bombers happened in Britain, Musharraf said the British government should act quickly in its own interest.
    
"The indoctrination, the mindset did not change here. The mindset changed in the UK," he said.

"I think they should (take action) in their own interest and in the interest of our fight against terrorism," he said.
    
He also accused the Blair administration of being too soft on radical elements in the country. He said "Yes I think so, absolutely," when asked a question in this regard.

He asked authorities to take strong action against extremist elements, including preaching of hate messages in mosques.

"This kind of hate campaign against anyone -- whether it is against the government or against another sect or other religion -- should be stopped. That is not what the mosque is meant for," Musharraf said in the interview.
 
Musharraf also suggested that the July 7 bombers were 'not experts' and that the attack must have been masterminded by someone.

"Certainly these four boys who killed themselves..were not experts in handling bombs and handling a complex operation like timing explosives and all that...so I'm sure there must be a brain behind it."
 
On the fact that the two of the bombers had visited Pakistan, Musharraf said 'even if they visited Pakistan and they contacted some extremists here, the reality is that they have been in the UK for 20 years.'

Source: PTI
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