India and Pakistan simmer over Mumbai attacks

Puntúa la noticia :

Nota de los usuarios: - (0votos)

• Bolsa, mercados y cotizaciones
• M. Continuo
• Global

Share

Tweet

elEconomista.es en Twitter

Follow @eleconomistaes

EcoTablet - ¡Gratis en App Store!

La plataforma más completa de información y servicios económicos para iPad.

• Suscribirse al boletín
• Imprimir
• Enviar
• Aumentar texto
• Reducir texto
• Haga doble click sobre una palabra para ver su signifcado
• Sudoku: Juega cada día a uno nuevo
• El tiempo: Consulta la previsión para tu ciudad

By Rina Chandran

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India said on Sunday it had proof of a Pakistani link to the Mumbai attacks that killed nearly 200 people, while Islamabad said it would move troops to the Indian border if tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals spilt over.

Indian officials have said most, perhaps all, of the 10 Islamist attackers who held Mumbai hostage with frenzied attacks using assault rifles and grenades came from Pakistan, a Muslim nation carved out of Hindu-majority India in 1947.

"We have evidence that the terrorists came from Pakistan," M.L. Kumawat, India's special secretary for internal security, told Reuters. He declined to say what that was.

An official in Islamabad said the next one to two days would be crucial for the nuclear-armed neighbours' relations. Pakistan has condemned the assaults and denied any involvement by state agencies.

After a final battle between militants and security forces on Saturday inside the Taj Mahal, Mumbai's best-known hotel, a crowd of protesters outside pumped their fists and shouted: "Our soldiers came and Pakistan ran away."

A senior Pakistani security official said Islamabad would divert troops to its border with India and away from fighting militants on the Afghan frontier if tensions rose.

"If something happens on that front, the war on terror won't be our priority," the official told reporters at a briefing. "We'll take out everything from the western border. We won't leave anything there."

"BLACK CATS" STRIKE BACK

Elite Black Cat commandos killed the last of the gunmen on Saturday after three days of room-to-room battling inside the Taj Mahal, one of several landmarks struck in coordinated attacks on Wednesday night.

Hundreds of people, many of them Westerners, were trapped or taken hostage as the gunmen hurled grenades and fired indiscriminately. At least 22 of those killed were foreigners, including businessmen and tourists.

Nine gunmen and 20 police and soldiers were also killed.

A tenth militant caught alive told interrogators they wanted to be remembered for an Indian version of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Times Now TV said, quoting an unidentified Defence Ministry official.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said "elements" in Pakistan may have been responsible for the attacks.

On Saturday, India's navy and coast guard boosted coastal patrols, after evidence mounted the attackers had come by boat to Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan's main port.

U.S. President George W. Bush said on Saturday he was closely monitoring the Mumbai attacks and had discussed it with Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and U.S. diplomats in India.

"We pledge the full support of the United States as India investigates these attacks, brings the guilty to justice and sustains its democratic way of life," Bush said at the White House.

THREE WARS

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence and went to the brink of a fourth after a December 2001 attack on India's parliament which India also linked to Pakistan.

They embarked on a peace process in 2004 that has ground on for the past four years.

A high ranking security officer in Pakistan said tension with India was escalating rapidly: "They'll have clarity of thought and we'll have clarity of the situation in next 24-48 hours."

India's ruling Congress party said on Saturday it expected Pakistan to adhere to its commitment not to let its territory be used for attacks on India.

"Pakistan can do whatever they want inside their border. We have to be careful and vigilant and I can tell you that India is vigilant on its border," Kumawat said.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has said he would act swiftly on any evidence of Pakistani involvement.

"These are sensitive moments," Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told a news conference. "The situation is serious, let us not fool ourselves ... when the people in India feel this is 9/11 for India."

India's internal politics are integral to the fallout from the attacks too. Singh faces an election by May and renewed accusations from India's main opposition, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, that Congress is weak on security.

"Brutal terror strikes at will. Weak government. Unwilling and incapable. Fight terror -- Vote BJP," said one election advertisement, written over a blood-red stain on a black background.

India's Home Ministry said the official toll in Mumbai was 183 killed. Earlier, Mumbai disaster authorities said at least 195 people had been killed and 295 wounded.

The attacks struck at the heart of Mumbai, the engine of an economic boom that has made India a favourite emerging market.

The city of 18 million is also home to the "Bollywood" film industry, the epitome of glamour in a country blighted by poverty.

(Reporting by New Delhi, Mumbai and Islamabad bureaux; Writing by Bryson Hull; Editing by Jerry Norton)

PUBLICIDAD

- Recibe nuestros análisis Diarios sobre Divisas, Acciones y Opciones. ¡Apúntate ya! ¡Es GRATIS!

- Opere en más de 8.000 CFDs. Infórmese y obtenga su CFD Trading Guide

- Nuevos spreads en materias primas: Oro tan sólo 0,3 puntos, Plata 0,25, Petróleo 0,35

- Opera desde 2,95 € en tiempo real con Self Bank.