Click to play videoNew Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has all but admitted that Ajmal Kasab, the sole terrorist captured alive for the attacks on Mumbai, is a Pakistani citizen.
Gilani, at a press conference in Lahore on Sunday, was asked about Kasab’s father statement that his son left home because he was not given new clothes on Eid. “What are you doing for poverty?” a reporter asked Gilani.
“Poverty is the root cause of terrorism. We have to cure its root cause. We should work on developing our nation,” the Pakistani Prime Minister replied. Gilani, along with other Pakistani leaders, had till now refused to accept that Pakistanis were involved in the Mumbai attacks.
Gilani said Pakistan was cracking down on terrorists on its own and had not buckled before Indian and international diplomatic pressure. “The whole world has condemned Mumbai attacks, including us. We are not in favour of terror—we don’t encourage it.”
“We will not let encourage breeding of terrorists on our land. We are abiding by the UN, not India,” he said while speaking about his government’s arrest of terrorist leaders and a ban on an Islamic charity accused of being a front for a militant organization.
“I want to assure the nation that we don’t want war; we want peace but if someone tries to attack us we are capable to hit back,” he said.
Pakistan has “banned” the Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), which the UN Security Council labelled a terrorist organisation after the Mumbai terror attacks. The Pakistan government claims its has sealed more than 100 JuD offices around the country and arrested 50 of its leaders.
It has denied any official link to the terrorist attack but has arrested some alleged plotters while demanding India hand over evidence to aid in their prosecution.
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