‘Terror global, not local’

Condemning the attacks in Mumbai, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said terrorism is not local or regional, but global, reports Renuka Narayanan.

India should have “pondered more” before coming to a conclusion on elements in Pakistan being responsible for the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Friday.

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Condemning the attacks in Mumbai, the Pakistani minister said: “I understand the pain and anger. We have to rise above politics and I’m sure the leadership in India is very mature and responsible.” He said he had “seen death very closely, I was on the truck with Benazir Bhutto on October 18; my son was injured.”

He said there was “institutional consensus” in Pakistani society now for the first time and that “the military and intelligence are taking orders from the elected political leadership.”

On why Lashkar-e-Tayyeba and Jaish-e-Mohammed leaders were not arrested, Qureshi said: “Terrorism is not local or regional, but global,” and that Pakistan “has banned the LeT and frozen its assets”.

“Pakistan is ready to cooperate with India at all levels,” he said, adding that he could not give a definite answer on when the ISI chief would arrive in New Delhi.