Rejecting Indian claims yet again that there is 'clear evidence' suggesting the Mumbai terror attacks originated inside Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday told BBC there is still no conclusive proof. Why don't you ask your wife? Oh, wait...
Zardari has previously pointed out several times that there is still no firm proof that gunmen who attacked Mumbai came from Pakistan. The president, however, promised Pakistan would take action if a link was proved. Zardari told BBC's Alan Little in Islamabad that Pakistan was prepared to act if adequate evidence of any Pakistani complicity in the attacks emerged. "If that stage comes, and when it comes, I assure you that our parliament, our democracy shall take the action properly deemed in our constitution and in our law," he said.
He said that Western intelligence agencies had not offered firm evidence to justify claims that the attacks were orchestrated from Pakistani soil, and he would not jump to conclusions until a full investigation had been conducted. Mr Zardari said claims that the sole surviving attacker had been identified by his father as coming from Pakistan had also not been proven.
Mere conjecture, I tells ya!
The arrested man has been named as Muhammad Ajmal Amir Kasab and is in Indian police custody.
The president also said that Hafiz Saeed — the leader of the banned charity Jamaatud Dawa (JD) — would remain under house arrest. "Let me assure you that if there is any investigation to be found pointing towards his involvement in any form of terrorism, he shall be tried for that reason," said Zardari.
But there won't be, so he won't be.
JD is accused of being a front for Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LT) — which is being blamed by India for carrying out the attacks — but the charity denies the charge. Zardari said that he had asked India to co-operate in an investigation, and he would not leap to judgement while that investigation was still in progress. He said that while he was not in denial about LT's continued activities, "when you ban an organisation, they emerge in some other form".
"So best just to leave them alone!"