Committed to punish 26/11 perpetrators, says Pak

As India accused it of inaction in the Mumbai attacks case, Pakistan on Friday expressed its commitment to bring to justice those responsible for the 2008 terror strikes, but said that it too wanted progress in the resolution of issues like Kashmir and Siachen.

"Pakistan has condemned the Mumbai incident in the past and continues to do so today. Two years have passed since the incident and it is our wish that those people who were involved in this incident should be brought to justice," Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on the second anniversary of the terror strikes.

Qureshi told mediapersons in his hometown of Multan in Punjab province that Interior Minister Rehman Malik had sent "some proposals" to India to facilitate progress in the process of bringing suspects linked to the Mumbai attacks to justice.

He did not give details about the proposals. His remarks came a day after India, in a strongly-worded diplomatic note, said "substantive and verifiable" progress has not been made in the probe into Mumbai terror attacks cases in Pakistan.

Asking Islamabad to fulfill its "obligation and commitment" to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 carnage, India regretted that no feedback has been received on several issues raised by New Delhi.

Qureshi on Friday said that Pakistan "will not provide backing to any organisation that is linked to terrorism."

Persons linked to or responsible for the Mumbai incident "should be punished in a legal manner and while remaining within the law," he said.

"The Pakistan government has been in touch with India and we have exchanged information and many dossiers. We have taken information from them and given them information," Qureshi said in response to a question.

"We want to remain peaceful and we have an interest in peace and stability in this region. We want good neighbourly and friendly relations with India," he added. At the same time, Qureshi acknowledged that Pakistan had "issues" with India that the world was aware of.

"These issues include Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek and water. We have told (India) we are ready to sit together to resolve these issues peacefully through talks. It is our desire that there should be progress in this too," he said.

Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency has arrested seven suspects, including LeT's operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, on charges of facilitating and planning the attacks that killed 166 people.

However, their trial has been marred by controversies and procedural delays and only one out of over 160 witnesses has testified so far.