Names of 7/11 suspects to be given to Pak soon

India will shortly present to Pakistan the names of its nationals suspected to be involved in the Mumbai blasts, along with related evidence, through the joint anti-terror mechanism recently agreed upon, highly placed sources said on Wednesday.

As many as 11 Pakistani nationals were directly involved in the serial blasts on July 11 in which nearly 200 people died, according to the Mumbai police.

Police have also said that the attacks were planned by ISI in Pakistan and carried out by Lashkar-e-Tayiba with the help of the banned Students  Islamic Movement of India.

Two of the Pakistanis involved are dead but the remaining are believed to have escaped to their country or could be hiding in India.

LeT's commander in Pakistan's Bahawalput district, Azam Cheema, is suspected to be the brain behind the conspiracy.

Islamabad's rejection of the Mumbai police claims and its refusal to handover any suspects to India is unacceptable to New Delhi, which wants this case to be the first test for the joint mechanism.

As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on his way back home from South Africa, the evidence of Pakistani involvement will be offered to Islamabad through the joint mechanism and it would be ascertained 'how sincere they are in carrying forward the commitment I and President Musharraf have underlined'.

Dr Singh was firm that the evidence India gives to Pakistan would be a test of its sincerety in controlling terrorism.

"Pakistan will have to walk the talk", he asserted. "Whatever has been discovered (by Mumbai police), we shall share that information with Pakistan. We will test the water."

There was condemnation of the Mumbai blasts in the joint statement and also an explicit mention that the two countries will work to control the menace of terrorism, he recalled.

Pointing out that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and he had just set up the joint mechanism to deal with terrorism, the prime minister said it was through this mechanism that Pakistan's response would be sought.

Although the joint mechanism was yet to take off, Dr Singh asked, "How else can we ask Pakistan for information (about Mumbai blasts) except through a mechanism like this?"

On Indo-Pak peace process, Dr Singh said it could not move forward unless and until both countries sincerely work to gain mastery over this menace (of terrorism).