M umbai evidence handed over to Pak : Pranab NEW DELHI, Jan 5: India today handed over to Pakistan evidence about involvement of elements based in that country in the Mumbai terror attacks and asked Islamabad to implement its commitments. Stepping up the diplomatic offensive, foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said he has written to his counterparts around the world and that countries are being briefed separately giving details of the Mumbai attacks and its links in Pakistan. “We have today handed over to Pakistan evidence of the links with elements in Pakistan of the terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008,” Mukherjee told reporters here. Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik was summoned by Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon to hand over the material. Pakistan confirmed it has received evidence regarding Mumbai terror attacks from India, and “concerned authorities” were “examining the material,” IANS reported. “The material has been received in Pakistan now and is being examined by concerned authorities,” said Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq. Describing the Mumbai attacks as “unpardonable crime,” Mukherjee asked Pakistan to implement the bilateral commitments it has made at the highest levels to India and practice its international obligations. The evidence includes confession of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist held during Mumbai terror strikes, records of GPS and satellite phones used by the attackers and transcript of conversations between the attackers and their handlers in Pakistan. It also includes details about weapons and other articles recovered. “This material is linked to elements in Pakistan. It is our expectation that the Government of Pakistan will promptly undertake further investigations in Pakistan and share the results with us so as to bring the perpetrators to justice,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. “We are also briefing all our friendly countries,” the Minister said. “I have written to my counterparts around the world giving them details of the events in Mumbai and describing in some detail the progress that we have made in our investigations and the evidence that we have collected,” Mukherjee said. The External Affairs Ministry will also be briefing all heads of missions based here by tomorrow. Indian Ambassadors and High Commissioners will be doing the same in their host countries, he said. “It is my hope that the world will unite to achieve the goal of eliminating the threat of such terrorism,” Mukherjee said. India hoped that Pakistan will implement its “bilateral, multilateral and international obligations to prevent terrorism in any manner from territory under its control.” PTI
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