LeT endangering existence of Pak: Benazir

She said she will "close down" operations of LeT and other terrorist groups from Pakistani soil if re-elected to the post and given the powers to act.

Voicing "deep pain" over Mumbai train blasts, former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has said the activities of terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) endangered the very existence of her country.

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She said she will "close down" operations of LeT and other terrorist groups from Pakistani soil if re-elected to the post and given the powers to act.

"I believe such groups are undermining Pakistan's integrity..., giving Pakistan a bad name... And endangering Pakistan's very existence," she told a private news channel.

When pointed out that India believed that LeT, which is backed by Pakistan's ISI, could be involved in the Mumbai blasts, Bhutto said, "Certainly LeT is a terrorist group... If LeT is behind these blasts, then it shows (President Pervez) Musharraf has failed despite seven years in power in undermining the group that wreaked havoc."

At the same time, she expressed doubts over any Pakistani involvement in the Mumbai explosions saying, "No connection has been made with Pakistan and there may be none."

Observing that she was "deeply pained, as do many people in Pakistan, over the tragic events that took place in Mumbai," the Pakistan People's Party leader said if re-elected and given the power, she would "close down" terrorist camps if they were operating from her country.