UN Security Council lists Lashkar front as terror outfit

New Delhi, December 11:

India today ruled out military action against Pakistan following the carnage in Mumbai, but described its neighbour as being at the “epicentre” of the attacks.

“That is not the solution,” Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said during his address to parliament when a lawmaker demanded India attack Pakistan in the wake of the militant strikes.

“The controllers of Mumbai attacks were in Pakistan,” he said, adding that there was “irrefutable proof the epicentre of this attack and not only this one but many more are in our neighbouring country.” Mukherjee said India expected decisive action from Pakistan to crack down on militants operating on its soil and had given Islamabad a list of 40 suspects it wanted handed over.

“We have also pointed out that their denial is not going to resolve the issue,” he said.

In an earlier statement to parliament, Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram announced wide-reaching reforms to security laws and national infrastructure aimed at preventing future terror assaults in India.

They include plans to fix intelligence lapses and “logistical weakness” that emerged during

the 60-hour siege in which 172 people died, including nine gunmen.

Among the measures is the setting up of 20 counter-insurgency and anti-terror schools for training commandos.

“We cannot go back to business as usual,” Chidambaram added, appealing to Indians to be

“brave and united.”

The sole surviving gunman, Mohammed Ajmal Amir Iman, was remanded in custody today and faces charges including “making war against the country” and murder, Mumbai crime branch chief Rakesh Maria said.

Iman, identified by Indian authorities as a Pakistani national, was one of 10 heavily armed Islamist militants who attacked targets across the financial capital, including two luxury hotels and the main railway station. He was arrested on the first evening of the assaults, which turned Mumbai into a battle zone between November 26 and 29. According to police, Iman, from the Pakistani province of Punjab, took part in the 20-minute killing spree at the railway station that left some 80 people dead.

Hafiz Saeed, who founded LeT and now heads the charity, today condemned a move by the UN Security Council to list Jamaat-ud-Dawa as a terrorist organisation.

“We are not prepared to accept this decision,” he said. “We do not accept terrorism, killing innocent people or carrying out suicide attacks.” Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said authorities have arrested two senior LeT members — Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah, both named in India as suspected planners of the Mumbai attacks.