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| India-Pakistan | |
| India security at 'war level' after deadly attacks | |
| 2008-12-01 | |
minister and the home (interior) minster. New Delhi said it was raising security to a "war level" and had proof of a Pakistani link to the attacks, which unleashed anger at home over the intelligence failure and delayed response to frenzied violence that paralysed India's financial capital. Officials in Islamabad have warned any escalation would force it to divert troops to the Indian border and away from a U.S.-led anti-militant campaign on the Afghan frontier. Federal Home Minister Shivraj Patil resigned, India's ruling Congress party coalition said, adding that Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram was appointed to take over Patil's job and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will take over the finance portfolio for now. Indian TV reported National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan had also resigned. "Markets will rejoice," Arum Kejriwal, a strategist at research firm Kris, said of Chidambaram and Patil. "People will accept that the government has removed two non-performers and this can positively influence the markets tomorrow." In the meantime, Mumbai took its first steps towards recovery Sunday after the trauma of a 60-hour militant assault that left blackened scars on the face of India's financial capital. Pakistan denies involvement Indian officials have said most, if not all, of the 10 Islamist attackers who held Mumbai hostage with frenzied attacks using assault rifles and grenades came from Pakistan. As intelligence chiefs scrambled to work out how the militants had managed to mount audacious attacks on multiple sites, the crisis risked escalating into a major stand-off between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. As police interrogated Sunday the only gunman who survived, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that "some elements in Pakistan" were responsible for the assault. Pakistan demanded evidence for Indian charges it was involved in the Mumbai attacks and reversed its decision to send its spy chief to aid a probe, muddying efforts to avert a crisis between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari urged India not to "over-react" after Indian and U.S. officials suggested the militants could have been from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, but had said he would act swiftly on any evidence of Pakistani involvement. Lashkar-e-Taiba has denied any responsibility. The group, which is fighting against Indian control of Kashmir, was behind the deadly 2001 assault on the Indian parliament that pushed New Delhi and Islamabad to the brink of war. Deep mistrust between the South Asian rivals, who have already fought three wars, endangers efforts by the U.S. and its Western allies to battle al-Qaida and Taliban militants in the region. Rising tensions Saturday prompted Pakistani security officials to warn the government would pull its troops from the anti-terrorism fight along Afghanistan's border in order to respond to any Indian military mobilization. Interrogation Indian media reported that the badly-injured gunman had identified all the attackers as Pakistan citizens and acknowledged that they were trained by Lashkar-e-Taiba. Ajmal Amir Kamal, 21, who was caught on a CCTV camera wearing a T-shirt with the logo "Versace," was reportedly being interrogated in a safe-house in Mumbai. Security forces only regained control of Mumbai when they succeeded in killing the last three militants holed up with hostages inside the famous Taj Mahal hotel. The previous day, elite troops had stormed a Mumbai Jewish center and killed two gunmen -- but also found eight dead Israeli hostages. Another luxury hotel that was attacked, the Oberoi/Trident, was cleared of militants late Friday, with scores of trapped guests rescued and dozens of bodies found. Officials said that 195 people had been killed and nearly 300 injured in the attacks, which targeted British and American citizens and began when the militants split into groups to strike multiple targets across the city, including the main railway station and a hospital. The United States, Israel and Britain were among countries that offered expert assistance to help with the investigation of the assault on Mumbai, which has been hit by terrorist attacks before. Nearly 190 people were killed in train bombings in 2006. | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 Mikey's inteligence service Wow. A triple oxymoron. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-12-01 18:42 |
| #2 Correct call, Fred. How come I haven't heard this obvious analysis from the |
| Posted by: Spot 2008-12-01 08:25 |
| #1 Mikey's inteligence service says that attackers were Muslim attack sponsers wer Muslim Bush Lied. People Died Islaam is not a religion of peace |
| Posted by: Michael 2008-12-01 00:40 |