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Pakistan PM says to have rejected Britain's request to question suspects
ISLAMABAD, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Monday that he has rejected a request from his British counterpart Gordon Brown to allow British police to question arrested suspects related to Mumbai attacks.Speaking before a general debate on Mumbai attacks, Gilani toldthe parliament that if there were any proofs, these suspects will be prosecuted under the law of Pakistan. "The British Prime Minister asked me to allow British police to have access to the Pakistanis. But I turned down the request," said Gilani. Brown offered Pakistan and India help to fight terrorism on Sunday during a whirlwind visit to the region aimed to ease tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors after the Mumbai terror attacks, which killed more than 170. During the talks with leaders of the two countries, Brown had asked them to allow British police to question suspects arrested over the terrorist attacks, reports said. Pakistan-India tensions are mounting as the Indian side accused Pakistan-based militant groups of involvement in the terrorist attack in India's financial center. Under pressure from India and the United States, Pakistan has intensified clampdown on the suspected groups and arrested some leaders from the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa charity blamed for the Mumbai terror attacks. Pakistan said Saturday that Indian fighter jets had violated its airspace twice, causing unrest for both countries. However, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said later that Indian planes had intruded into Pakistan airspace because of a technical mistake. "We have to focus on our problems and we don't want to go into war," the Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Gilani as saying. "But if the war is thrust on us, we will stand united like a respectful nation," Gilani said. Posted by: john frum 2008-12-15 |
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