Pakistan has finally acknowledged that last year’s terrorist attack on Mumbai was planned on its soil. This is the clearest sign yet that Pakistan intends to cooperate with international efforts to prosecute those behind the attacks.
Pakistan’s Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik spoke during a press conference in Islamabad Thursday.
On Thursday, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said eight suspects from the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group were behind the attacks and could face prosecution. But why now? Why has Pakistan decided to admit this after months of denial?
When the attacks occurred, it was clear as day that they had been planned on Pakistani soil. However at the time Pakistani officials strictly denied any involvement and even went as far as to accuse India of strategizing the attacks to find an excuse to point fingers at Pakistan. No wonder then that relations between the two South Asian countries plummeted and rumors of war and attack have been on the forefront ever since.
Pakistan has decided to come clean only because officials in Washington have pushed them to conduct a thorough investigation and offer a complete, public accounting of what they found. The country knows the entire international community is watching and wants to see justice. However, it has stayed silent on Indian accusations that elements of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency has played a role in plotting the attack.(WSJ)
But India wants action. Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee berated Pakistan for taking so so long to admit its involvement. (BBC)
