Pak must take direct and tough action, says Rice

YOU AND US: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (L) shakes hands with Pranab Mukherjee before a meeting in New Delhi.

      

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New Delhi: India and the United States of America have agreed to join hands to fight terror.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, addressing a joint press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, said that all countries must come together to fight the menace of terrorism.

"I come because the President of US and the people of US want India to know that US stands in solidarity. We are going to work very closely with you in any way we can and get to the bottom of what happened," the US Secretary of State said.

Rice also rejected Pakistan's contention that India does not have enough proof against Pakistani citizens being involved in terror attacks and said that there is need for "direct and tough action" by Pakistan even if the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks were "non-state actors".

"The fact is non-state actors perform from the confines of the state. There has to be direct and tough action (by Islamabad)," Rice told a press conference after discussions with Mukherjee.

"Pakistan needs to be transparent in its cooperation. We need to let the facts lead as the investigation is still underway," she said. "I know how difficult it is to take information and then to act on it. US has a good deal of experience in counter terrorism fight."

Her remarks assume significance in the context of President Asif Ali Zardari denying Pakistan's involvement in the Mumbai attacks, saying the terror strikes were executed by the "stateless actors" who wanted to hold the "entire world hostage."

"US has lost its own citizens in this attack and we expect all responsible countries to support the fight against terror. We have noted that President Zardari has pledged cooperation. We expect that the cooperation will be carried out fully," Rice said.

Mukherjee said that India's action would "depend on the response (of Pakistan) and will consist of whatever the government considers necessary".

"Rice has specially come to express solidarity in the wake of Mumbai attacks. I informed Rice that there is no doubt that the Mumbai attacks were organised by individuals who came from Pakistan," Mukherjee said.

He also said that international cooperation is a must if the menace of terrorism is to be rooted out and pointed out that India has been targetted on a regular basis.

"Terrorism needs to be fought collectively by many countries. Terrorism has no limits and is the biggest menace. We had similar attacks earlier in Jaipur, Delhi, Ahmedabad and now in Mumbai," Mukherjee said.

However, Masood Sharif Khan, Former IB Chief of Pakistan said "There isn't ay evidence on record as yet that can be called soild anyway. Eevery Pakistani feels for the people of Mumbai. As far as evidence goes,if there is any evidence then we are going to take strong actions. However, we don't know why is evidence being withheld."

"Terrorism is something Pakistan condems very badly and something that we are hit by as well, and Pakistan is trying to take as much action as possible and If prrof is provided, then Pakistan is ready to help the world community against the war against terror but so far it is just heresay," he added.