Pakistan Refuses To Hand Over Mumbai Suspects

By Cernig

I thought this might happen:

Pakistan has arrested leading militants following the Mumbai attacks but says it will not hand them over to India.

India has also released what is says are pictures of eight out of nine dead attackers and alleged that all are from Pakistan. The Pakistani foreign minister is being quite clear that his nation is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to deny any investigations which might implicate it's military and ISI intelligence agency.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, meanwhile, repeated that Pakistan would not hand over to India any of its citizens arrested in connection with last month's attack.

He said that about 16 people had been detained for questioning so far in a crackdown against banned Islamist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Reports say Pakistani police have also ordered the sealing of some offices used by Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the Islamic charity seen as a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Mr Qureshi added: "We do not want to impose war, but we are fully prepared in case war is imposed on us. We are not oblivious to our responsibilities to defend our homeland."

Pakistan has long operated a "catch-and-release" scheme for extremist leaders it finds useful or who know too much to be given their day in court. Freshly captured LeT leader Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi has been in and out of custody several times himself over the past five years.

All of which puts President Zardari's glib assurances in the NY Times Tuesday that "Pakistan is committed to the pursuit, arrest, trial and punishment of anyone involved in these heinous attacks," and Condi Rice's statement that Pakistan is taking "positive steps" in combatting terrorism in an entirely less glowing light.

Comments

[CP]

This is one interesing angle to check out (China blocked move to ban Jamaat thrice):
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China_blocked_move_to_ban_Jamaat_thrice/articleshow/3818807.cms

[Change agent]

too bad the fact is the terrorists were british pakistanis!