External forces behind terror attacks: Azad

Azad said this was an attempt to destabilise his government and the "whole country."

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday blamed "external agencies" for destabilising the country through terrorist attacks in connivance with locals in different parts of India.

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Replying to a question from a reporter about Tuesday's grenade attacks in Srinagar, Azad said this was an attempt to destabilise his government and the "whole country."

Speaking at a rally in Samba (J&K), Azad said the attacks had gone far beyond the Kashmir Valley and even reached Mumbai. "There is some external agency working with local connivance which we have to find out," he said.

Asked about the involvement of Pakistan in Tuesday's attacks in Srinagar and Mumbai that killed nearly 200 people, Azad said, "We have to find out.

"Some organisations or countries are behind these elements who are indulging in such inhuman acts," he said.

Azad accused Pakistan of trying to "weaken" India by various strategies including creating a communal divide between Hindus and Muslims.

Without naming any organisation, he also blamed a "so-called national party" for "encouraging militancy" and vitiating the atmosphere in the Jammu region. He asked the people to be vigilant against this party whose only interest is "self-prosperity" at the cost of people of the state.