Bush in his telephonic conversation with Zardari in the backdrop of Indo-Pak tension over suspected involvement of Pakistan-based terror outfits in the Mumbai carnage urged Islamabad's cooperation in the on-going probe.
Bush "called prime minister (Manmohan) Singh of India and separately president (Asif Ali) Zardari of Pakistan. President Bush urged both ... to cooperate with each other in the Mumbai attack investigation as well as on counter-terrorism in general," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. Bush spoke from his ranch in Crawford in Texas.
"All three leaders from the United States, India and Pakistan agreed that no one wanted to take any steps that unnecessarily raise tensions," Johndroe emphasised.
"... the calls he(Bush) had with both Prime Minister Singh and, separately, with President Zardari were encouraging the sides to cooperate, not only on the Mumbai investigation, but also on counterterrorism in general.
And I'll leave it at that," Johndroe said.
In Islamabad, a brief statement issued by the presidency said Zardari assured Bush that Pakistan will not allow its territory to be used by "non-state actors" for launching attacks on other countries.
Asked about the nature of the conversation between Bush and Zardari especially if the US President had spoken about the extradition of a militant who had confessed to the Mumbai terror attacks, Johndroe refused to get into the details.
"...reports out of Islamabad is that a ...Pakistani militant has confessed to ...Mumbai attack... Did the president talk about whether or not this individual should be extradited... (for) trial to India?" Johndroe was asked.
"... I'm not going to get into details. I don't recall that specific issue coming up -- specific element coming up" the White House Deputy Press Secretary replied.
The statement by the Pakistan presidency said, "President Asif Ali Zardari reiterated the position of the government of Pakistan that it will not allow its territory to be used by non-state actors for launching attacks on other countries".
Zardari said "anybody found involved in such attacks from the soil of Pakistan will be dealt with sternly".
Bush and Zardari discussed the situation in the region and bilateral relations, the statement said.
Bush's phone conversation with Zardari was the latest in a flurry of contacts between top US and American officials in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, which sparked tensions with India.
India has blamed Pakistan-based elements, including the Lashker-e-Taiba terror group, for the attacks that killed over 180 people. India has asked Pakistan to take action against these elements.
Pakistan has said it is waiting for India to share evidence and information on the Mumbai attacks so that it can push forward its investigation into the incident.
Source: http://www.indiavilas.com/redir.asp?l=http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?j1752539753
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