India asked to share actionable info

ISLAMABAD (APP) - Pakistan Monday asked India to share with it the real time actionable information on terrorist threats, if any. In response to a recent statement by the Indian home minister expressing apprehensions on terror strikes being planned by certain groups in Pakistan, the Foreign Office spokesman said, We have repeatedly requested the Indian government to share with us whatever information it has in this regard. The spokesman said sharing of credible information on any future terrorist threats was deemed essential by the prime ministers of Pakistan and India at the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit this July. Our Monitoring Desk adds: Pakistan-based groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad are continuing to plot attacks against India where they are finding support from disgruntled elements, Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram claimed Monday while describing Mumbai attacks as a game changer, report The Hindu and CNN-IBN. He also said that there were attempts from across the border to forge unity among freedom fighters in Occupied Kashmir and escalate violence. The attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008 were a game-changer. We can no longer afford to do business as usual. Policing in India was always a challenge; after 26/11, the challenge has become more grave, Chidambaram said while inaugurating a three-day conference of state police chiefs in New Delhi. Fresh from his five-day trip to the US, Chidambaram echoed what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pointed out a month back at an internal security conclave and said cross-border terrorism was still a matter of deep concern. Talking tough, Chidambaram said there would be a zero tolerance to terror. On terrorism, our stance is zero tolerance. We shall raise our level of preparedness to fight any terror threat or terror attack and, in the case of a threat or attack, our response will be swift and decisive. Groups including LT and JM persist in their endeavour to launch terror attacks. They continue to innovate new ways and means of deniability, Chidambaram said. They find support among disgruntled elements within India. Cells and modules within India lend an Indian character to these activities. He said security agencies were able to bust 12 terrorist modules in 2008 and, in the first half of the current year, almost 13 modules had been neutralised. On Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Chidambaram said there was a steady improvement in the security scenario in the state but warned against complacency. There are attempts from across the border to forge unity among the separatists and escalate violence. The J&K police and security forces operating in the state must not lower their guard in the backdrop of recent improvement in the situation and be ever vigilant against likely attempts to step up violence, he said. Meanwhile, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor Monday asked Washington to monitor its aid to Islamabad, a day after former Pakistan president Pervez Musharrafs confession about US aid being diverted against India. We support countries helping Pakistan fighting against terrorism, but we do not expect the aid turned against us, Tharoor told reporters. The US should monitor its aid to Pakistan, he said, adding that Musharrafs disclosure did not surprise India. Musharrafs revelation confirms Indias stand on misuse of US aid by Pakistan, he said. He was reacting to a question on Musharrafs admission in an interview that Pakistan had used the aid provided by the US for the war against terror during his regime to strengthen defences against India. Musharraf also admitted that he had violated rules governing the use of the military aid, and justified his actions by saying he had acted in the best interest of Pakistan. Musharraf said he did not care whether the US would be angered by his disclosure as he did not want to compromise on Pakistans interests. The current Pakistan government has, however, denied any misuse of US aid.

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