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| India-Pakistan |
| India yet to share Mumbai evidence: Interpol chief |
| 2008-12-24 |
| ndia has given no information about last month's attacks in Mumbai to Interpol and the information passed to the media by Indian investigators should be shared if it is accurate, the police agency's chief said on Tuesday. Interpol Secretary General Ronald K Noble told a news conference in Islamabad until the Indian authorities shared information, police around the world would be unable to make any determination about the identity of the attackers. "To date, India's government has not authorised its police agencies to enter any data relating to the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai in Interpol's databases," Noble said. "The information Interpol has about what happened in Mumbai is the same information that you have. It's information that we've read in journals, that we've read on the Internet or that we've seen on TV," he said. Like Noble, Pakistan says the only information it has received on the Mumbai attacks has come through media reports. Indian officials, however, claimed they had passed on information. Noble said it was a country's right to decide when it should share information but it was unacceptable for authorities to pass accurate information to the media without sharing it with Interpol. "We can't enter newspaper information in our police databases, we can only enter information that we receive from police authorities," he said. "Right now, police around the world who are searching names in police databases that you might be familiar with from reading the newspapers will get negative responses because that information is not in Interpol's database." Noble said Pakistan had been "among the most active contributors" to Interpol's efforts in the past, adding officials here told him they "would be willing to cooperate via Interpol to help India further its investigation." When asked if it was unusual for India not to have agreed to Interpol's request for data-sharing, the Interpol chief said it was New Delhi's "sovereign choice" to decide when and if to agree. However, he expressed the hope that more information would soon be forthcoming, following the deployment of a team of Interpol investigators in India. The Interpol head thanked Pakistan for sharing important information and urged the international community to help the country in combating the menace of terrorism. "Pakistan is one of the countries extending their best cooperation to Interpol," he said. Speaking along with the Interpol chief, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik said if India provided credible evidence about culprits involved in the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan would take action to bring them to justice. He said the Interpol head was on a routine visit to Pakistan and he had discussed with him the current situation in the wake of the Mumbai attacks and problems like human trafficking. He said that India had neither provided any information officially to Pakistan about the arrest of a Pakistani national nor did it share any concrete proof about those behind the Mumbai attacks. Malik said Pakistan had offered unconditional support to India, adding that Pakistan was a sovereign country and would take any step to safeguard its national interests. To a question about the resolution passed by the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee regarding individuals and organisations including the Jamaatud Daawa, he said the banned organisations could go to the UN and ascertain the reasons for the ban. He said the Foreign Office had received a letter from Ajmal Kasab in which he had reportedly sought legal assistance. Rehman Malik said the letter was being examined by experts and the Foreign Office would issue a statement about it. He said there was no record of Ajmal Kasab with Nadra. Rehman Malik observed that Pakistan and India were both victims of terrorism and joint action was needed to defeat the menace. Answering a question about threats emanating from India, the adviser on interior said the whole nation was fully united to face any challenge. Malik said Islamabad had acted in accordance with the UN resolutions to shut down the Lashkar-e-Taiba-linked charity Jamaatud Daawa, place its leaders under house arrest and freeze its assets. Asked if he believed that Lashkar-e-Taiba was involved in the attacks, Malik said, "It had been banned much earlier. It does not exist." "We want to bring the culprits to justice," Rehman Malik told reporters. We are prepared to cooperate with India but they have to bring us evidence." |
| Posted by:Fred |