Pak dismisses Indian data as ' not evidence'

Pakistan's prime minister has downplayed the significance of an Indian dossier on the Mumbai attacks, saying it only contained information and ''not evidence,'' state media reported. Yousuf Raza Gilani's remarks late Tuesday before Parliament were likely to anger New Delhi, which says the dossier provides evidence that Pakistani militants staged the November slaughter of 164 people. India specifically blames Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant group believed to have links to Pakistani intelligence. Pakistan only recently acknowledged that the only surviving Mumbai gunman was Pakistani, but it insists none of its state agencies played a role in the attacks. Under international pressure, Pak has detained some suspects allegedly linked to the attacks, while repeatedly calling on India to provide evidence to allow legal prosecutions. ''All that has been received from India is some information. I say information because these are not evidence,'' Gilani said, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan. The dossier, handed over on Jan. 5, includes transcripts of phone calls allegedly made during the siege by the attackers and their handlers in Pakistan. Previously, India had given Pakistan a letter from the lone surviving gunman, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, that reportedly said he and the nine other gunmen were Pakistani. In his statement, Gilani said Pakistan was continuing to examine the dossier. He also urged ''pragmatic cooperation'' between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, who have already fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.

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