In what could be a renewed hardening of tone towards Islamabad, India Saturday alleged that Pakistan is the "epicenter of terrorism", one day after its Army chief threatened the neighboring nation with action if it doesn't stop attempts by militants to infiltrate into India-controlled Kashmir.
"Pakistan is the epicenter of terrorism," Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told the media in the southern city of Bangalore.
Reiterating that Islamabad should waste no time in acting against those responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks last November, which claimed the lives of over 170 people, Krishna said that "if Pakistan is serious, it will act against Nov. 26 attackers".
"Pakistan should arrest people involved in Mumbai attack," he said.
The minister's statement came a day after Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor warned Pakistan, saying, "If ceasefire violation is not stopped, we will be forced to take retaliatory action. We normally observe restraint but if this does not stop, we will have to think of retaliatory action."
Kapoor also said that cross border infiltration into India- controlled Kashmir has been registering an upward trend with attempts being made to "push in" from Pakistan as many terrorists as possible before the winter.
"Let me put it this way that this period is critical as we have a peaceful valley... Attempts will be made from across the border to try and disrupt that and push in as many infiltrators as possible before the winter sets in," Kapoor told reporters.
(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2009)
