(AKI) - India has lodged a formal protest with Pakistan's envoy over the brutal terror attacks in the city of Mumbai last week. Indian officials have repeatedly said in recent days there was evidence that the militants behind the attacks on two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre in Mumbai had Pakistani links. The Ministry of External Affairs late Monday summoned the Pakistan High Commissioner, Shahid Malik, to the ministry's office in New Delhi to protest against the attacks.
Islamabad has denied any involvement in the attacks and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has warned that any escalation of tension between the two neighbours would be disastrous. But he conceded the terrorists may have come from Pakistan. "All the terrorists involved in the Mumbai blasts are related to Pakistan-based Lashkar-i-Toiba," Zardari told London's Financial Times newspaper. "We are seriously concerned and the government won't let such acts go lightly."
India's new Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram vowed to "respond with determination and resolve" to the crisis.
The White House says it has heard nothing to suggest the Pakistani government was involved.
At least 188 people were killed - including 22 foreigners - after the attackers opened fire in several locations, including two hotels, a restaurant and a Jewish centre. The attacks on the two hotels - the luxurious Taj Mahal Palace and Oberoi - and the Jewish centre resulted in three days of conflict between government security forces and militants.