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Pak behind embassy attack: NSA

New Delhi, July 12
India has a "fair amount" of intelligence inputs about Pakistan's involvement in the Monday's suicide attack on its embassy in Kabul, National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan said on Saturday.

“We not only suspect but we have a fair amount of intelligence (on the involvement of Pakistan),” Narayanan told television channels when asked whether India suspects Pakistan's involvement in the attack.

“The ISI needs to be destroyed. We made this point, whenever we have had a chance, to interlocutors across the world... there might have been some tactical restraint for some time, obviously that restraint is no longer present,” he said.

Specifically asked about reports that ISI was behind the Kabul attack, Narayanan said, “we have no doubt that the ISI is behind this”.

“The people of this country deserve to know the facts rather than being carried away by people who make statements that these are insinuations. There are no insinuations,” Narayanan said.

Four Indians, including senior IFS officer V V Rao and Brigadier R D Mehta, India’s Defence Attache, were killed in the blast caused by a suicide bomber driving an explosive-laden vehicle.

The NSA said there was a need to retaliate to such acts of terror. “I think we need to pay back in the same coin. We are quite clear in our mind,” he said.

When asked who should be paid back, he replied, “Those who are responsible.”

Asked whether such acts would impede the peace process, he said: “I don't think ISI has ever been a part of the peace process.... I think we need to make a distinction” between the two.

He said India-Pakistan relations were sought to be improved through a comprehensive dialogue mechanism.

“The anti-terror mechanism was one piece of this picture. The hope was that in course of time both sides would share whatever information they have and come up with a holistic idea of what was going on,” he said.

“Talk-talk is better than fight-fight. But it hasn't worked so far. In some way, we haven't arrived at the decision that we should go for fight-fight so let talk-talk continue for the moment,” Narayanan said. — PTI

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Mush denial
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

President Pervez Musharraf has denied the involvement of Pakistani agencies in the suicide attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul and said Pakistan itself was a victim of terrorism.

Talking to outgoing French Ambassador R'gis de Belenet who called on him, Musharraf said the international community should stop blaming Pakistan for every terrorist act in the region.

Stressing the need for addressing the root cause of terrorism, the President said: “Terrorism cannot be defeated through the use of force alone, as this breeds more terrorists and extremists.”

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s firm resolve to fight extremism and terrorism, saying a comprehensive strategy was being pursued in dealing with this menace.

Musharraf stressed the need of enhancing defence cooperation between France and Pakistan as well as in other fields of common interest. The outgoing French Ambassador lauded Pakistan's role in fighting terrorism.

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