Pakistan refuses to hand over fugitives
Pakistan has refused to hand over 20 fugitives wanted by India
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Wednesday, 03, Dec 2008 10:10
Pakistan has refused to hand over 20 fugitives wanted by India in connection with the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last week which left almost 200 people dead.
The country's president Asif Ali Zardari appeared on national television on Tuesday night to make known his reluctance to extradite them.
"If we had proof, we would try them in our courts. We would try them in our land and we would sentence them," he said.
Earlier this week India presented Pakistan with the list of people they wanted extradited, as tensions between the two countries continued to grow in the wake of the terrorist attacks.
Indian authorities have continued to speculate that the gunmen who came ashore in Mumbai on Wednesday night were either directed or came from Pakistan.
Yesterday India's external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee refused to rule out military action in response to the attacks.
Mr Zardari, however, said he doubted the claims that the sole surviving gunman was a Pakistani national, claiming that the men had been "stateless actors".
"We have not been given any tangible proof to say that he is definitely a Pakistani. I very much doubt that he's a Pakistani," he said.
"These [terrorists] are stateless actors who have been operating throughout the region. They include gunmen and the planners and are holding the entire world hostage.
"The state of Pakistan is not responsible for the attacks in Mumbai."
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice arrived in India today in the hope of easing tensions between the two countries.