India tells Pak to act against 26/11 culprits to restore confidence

Home minister P Chidambaram today said confidence cannot be restored between India and Pakistan till Islamabad takes action against the "real culprits" responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Home minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said confidence cannot be restored between India and Pakistan till Islamabad takes action against the "real culprits" responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

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"The fundamental cause of friction between the two countries is Pakistan not taking action to bring the real controllers and perpetrators of the 26/11 attacks to justice," Chidambaram said during an interaction with visiting Pakistani journalists.

Chidambaram made it clear that confidence cannot be restored between the two countries unless Pakistan takes action against the "real culprits of 26/11". He questioned how the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks were "living in Pakistan".

At the same time, bilateral relations are being affected by the continued infiltration of militants from Pakistan into India along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab states, he said.

Giving an example, he said Indian security forces had recently killed five militants while they were attempting to infiltrate from Pakistan.

Chidambaram repeatedly stressed the need for Pakistan to take action against the "real culprits" responsible for the attack on India's financial hub in November 2008, that killed 166 people.

New Delhi recently handed over to Islamabad, a list of five individuals linked to the Mumbai incident, including an army officer, but no action had been taken by Pakistani authorities so far, he said.

Chidambaram said he had spoken to his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik and the Pakistan government on this issue.