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Pakistan condemns Malegaon blasts

Source:PTI
September 10, 2006 15:47 IST

Condemning the multiple blasts in Maharashtra's Malegaon town, Pakistan has expressed the hope that Indian government would bring the culprits to book.

"Pakistan condemns terrorism and extremism in all forms," Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Saturday, reacting to the Malegaon blasts that left 31 people dead and 300 injured on Friday.

He hoped the Indian government will punish those found guilty of the bomb attacks.

Asserting that Pakistan is for peace in the region, Aziz said that with India it requires the resolution of all issues, including the Kashmir problem.

He hoped the upcoming meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Havana on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit will help take the peace process forward.

About the recent peace deal between Pakistan government and pro-Taliban militants to end the five years of unrest in the tribal area bordering Afghanistan, he said it was a 'positive move' aimed at improving the situation and restoring normal activities in the area.

The Pakistan premier said the agreement provides guarantees to check terrorist activities and ensures that there is no cross-border movement in the area.

On the situation in Balochistan following the killing of tribal leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, he said the government's strategy focusses on peace and development in the region.

Meanwhile, in London, the Council of Indian Muslims, UK, condemned the Malegaon blasts as an 'outrageous' act of violence aimed at destroying the communal fabric of the Indian society.

'In order to curb the disease of terrorism we urge the Indian government to set up a public inquiry and punish those found responsible for the crimes', its chairman Munaf Zeena said in a statement on Saturday.

'This is an extremely cowardly and outrageous act. Like all previous acts of terrorism this is also the work of devilish forces aiming at destroying communal fabric of Indian society', Zeena said.

'They have cleverly chosen the time when the Vande Matram controversy is on so that the fire ignited by them in Malegaon spreads everywhere in India'," he said.

Zeena said. 'We have always maintained that Indian society is too mature to fall into the trap of these conspirators. Terrorists have failed in the past and God-willing they will fail again. They have failed to put the slightest dent on inter-communal relations after 7/7 in London or in Mumbai recently. These two experiences show that for diverse societies maturity, patience and wisdom is the most effective weapon to defeat terrorism'.

Source: PTI
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