ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Pakistan’s leaders know what’s at stake after the terror attack in Mumbai and have acknowledged their duty to evict terrorists and prevent future attacks, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Pakistan’s leaders know what’s at stake after the terror attack in Mumbai and have acknowledged their duty to evict terrorists and prevent future attacks, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday. "I found a Pakistani government that is focused on the threat and that understands its responsibilities to respond to terrorism and extremism wherever it is found," Rice said following sessions with the country’s powerful army chief and civilian leaders. The U.S. wants broader sharing of intelligence and a commitment by Pakistan to root out terror groups that have found a comfortable haven in the Muslim country. To stress that message and heighten pressure on Pakistan’s new civilian government, the administration sent both Rice and its top military officer to seek Pakistani aid in uncovering the origins of the Mumbai attack that India blames on Pakistani militants. Rice was in Pakistan for only a few hours after expressing U.S. condolences in India for more than 170 deaths in Mumbai. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen met a day earlier with key Pakistani leaders. The Americans carried a message both blunt and subtle: There’s no denying the Pakistani fingerprints in the coordinated attack on India’s financial capital Mumbai, and the terrorist threat could just as easily be turned inward. "There is a lot of information about what happened," Rice told reporters at the conclusion of her visit, "a lot of information." Her emphasis on the word "lot" left little doubt that there is a rich intelligence trail. U.S. officials have said the same thing the Indians are saying, that the trail leads to terror groups based entirely or partly in Pakistan. "That information needs to be used now to get the perpetrators and prevent them from doing this again," Rice said. Evidence collected in probes so far has pointed to two members of outlawed Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Taiba as masterminds in the attacks, according to two Indian government officials familiar with the matter. The men are believed to be in Pakistan, the officials said. The Indian officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the details. Airports in India went on high alert Thursday following fresh warnings. The new alert that warned of possible airborne attacks focused on three major airports — New Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai — but security was stepped up across the country. No details about the threat were released. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who has vowed full cooperation with India, told Rice the attacks provide a chance to strengthen efforts against terrorism. "We are looking at this as an opportunity, and I intend to do everything in my power," Zardari said. Pakistan’s army remains the country’s most powerful institution, even after the election of Zardari’s civilian government this year. Rice began her meetings in Islamabad with the man sometimes described as Pakistan’s shadow ruler, Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The United States is hopeful that the reform-minded Kayani will be able to make progress against terrorism and shake up a vast intelligence network that the U.S. has long claimed has murky ties to militants. But the media-shy general was his country’s strongest voice criticizing U.S. terrorist-hunting raids into Pakistan from Afghanistan this fall. After a U.S. ground raid in September, Kayani said Pakistan would defend its sovereignty and that there was no deal to allow foreign forces to operate inside its borders. He said unilateral actions risked undermining joint efforts to battle Islamic extremism and warned that "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country will be defended at all cost." Associated Press Writers Stephen Graham and Chris Brummitt in Islamabad and Ramolah Talwar Badam in Mumbai contributed to this report. AP ______ Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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