Pakistan-based Terror Groups Plotting More Attacks: India

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Just days before he is to leave for the United States on the first state visit after the Obama administration came to power, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was receiving intelligence inputs daily, suggesting that some Pakistan-based Islamic terrorist groups were plotting more strikes like the Mumbai carnage of November 26 last year.

"Every day, I receive intelligence reports saying that terrorists based in Pakistan are planning other similar acts (similar to 26/11)," Singh said in an interview to the Washington Post that will be carried in the daily's edition Sunday, the day of his arrival in Washington.

Terming as "tragic," Pakistan's use of terror as state policy, he said India was ready to resolve all outstanding issues with its western Islamic neighbor on the condition that the latter would not allow its territory to be used to carry out terror atttacks against India.

Singh said India continued to be a victim of "Pakistan-aided-abetted-and-inspired terrorism for nearly 25 years," and wanted the United States to use all its influence with Pakistan to persuade it give up that path. He, asserted that Pakistan had "nothing to fear" from India, and the only condition of New Delhi was that Islamabad should not allow its territory to be used for acts of terrorism against India.

"If Pakistan really honors that commitment, we can go back to negotiations to resolve all outstanding issues between us," he added.

On actions being taken by Pakistan to bring to book those involved in the Mumbai carnage, the Indian Prime Minister said it had just not done enough. "As far as the perpetrators of the Mumbai massacre are concerned, (Pakistan) has taken some steps but not enough," he said.

He also expressed concern over the increase in the number of terrorist strikes in Pakistan, and said the increasing grip of terrorists over several parts of that country was a threat to India's security as well.

He warned of "serious consequences" to India's security if the Taliban-and-Al-Qaida-type of terror, which till recently was confined to Pakistan's Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), got transferred to its mainland.

"We would not like terrorism to lead to a situation where the civilian government is only a nominal government (in that country)," he said.

Observing that Islamabad was not fully committed to the war on terrorism, Singh said the objectives of the U.S. and Pakistan were not the same in this regard. While Pakistan, he said, would like the Americans out of Afghanistan soon, Washington's objectives were to get Pakistan to deal with the Taliban.

"Pakistan would like Afghanistan to be under its control... I don't see Pakistan whole-heartedly in support of action against the Taliban in Afghanistan," Singh said. He added though Pakistan was taking action against the Taliban, that was only when the organization it created during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan threatened the supremacy of its army.

Hoping that the international community would not abandon Afghanistan, Singh said a Taliban victory there would have "catastrophic consequences" for the world, particularly for South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.

"We (in India), of course, have more immediate concerns. We are the victims of terrorism and the extremist ideologies of the type that the Taliban represents. If this is not checked, this could de-stabilize our country," the Prime Minister said.

Agreeing that the presidency of Hamid Karzai was not perfect, Singh said it should be supported, now that he was elected for a second term.

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