Pak utilising terrorism as instrument of state policy: PM

Speaking out in a straight and forthright manner, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blamed Pakistan based outfit, Lashkar-e-Taiba for terrorist attack on Mumbai in November last year that killed over 170 people and left other 300 injured, and said Pakistan has utilised terrorism as an instrument of state policy.

“Terrorism in India is largely sponsored from Pakistan which has utilised terrorism as an instrument of state policy, Prime Minister Dr.

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Singh said, addressing a day-long conference of chief ministers on the internal security in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Dr. Singh said that some countries like Pakistan have in the past encouraged and given sanctuary to terrorists and other forces who are antagonistic to India and now in-charge of these terrorist organisations have resorted to other stratagems to infiltrate terrorists into India.

‘Today infiltration is occurring via Nepal and from Bangladesh, though it has not totally ceased via the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir despite fencing the border along LoC. Sea route is another option that is now being exploited and explored as an alternative to land routes, and was used by terrorists who carried out the attack on Mumbai on Nov 26 came from Karachi to Mumbai by boat,’ the Prime Minister said.

Coming down heavily on Pakistan for his continuous unwillingness to act against Mumbai perpetrators pretending insufficient evidence, Dr. Singh said: “On the basis of the investigations carried out, including the Agencies of some foreign countries whose national were killed in the attack, there is enough evidence to show that, given the sophistication and military precision of the attack, it must have had the support of some official agencies in Pakistan.”

Many things are doing and will be done to make the internal security strong, Dr. Singh said both the Centre and the State governments must attend to this task with speed, efficiency and utmost dedication.

Home Minister P Chidambaram, participating for the first time in such conferences in a new portfolio, said: first, we need to raise the level of preparedness to meet the increasingly sophisticated terrorist threats and secondly, to enhance the speed and decisiveness of the response to a terrorist threat or a terrorist attack. But these twin objectives need to be achieved in a relatively short period of time.

Illustrating the First, he said the key to raising the level of preparedness is gathering and sharing intelligence, and for the Second, he said this requires specially trained police personnel and advanced equipment.