WASHINGTON: The US has no reason to believe Pakistan’s government was involved in last week’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and the Bush administration trusts Pakistan to investigate the issue, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Monday.
“We have no reason not to” trust Pakistan “right now,” Ms. Perino told reporters at a briefing. “I’ve heard nothing that says the Pakistani government was involved.”
President George W Bush is sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to India in an effort to defuse the rising tensions betwen India and Pakistan in the wake of the terrorist strikes in Mumbai. Dr. Rice is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on Dec. 3 after attending a NATO meeting in Europe.
Ms Perino said that the intelligence community is “still assessing all aspects of the attacks, the motivation, the plotting and planning, and the operational details of it.”
Bush called Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday, assuring him that the US “stands in solidarity” with his country, according to Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman with the National Security Council.
Bush told Singh that he has instructed the state and defense departments “to devote the necessary resources and personnel to this situation,” Johndroe said in an e-mailed statement.
The president told Singh “that he believes out of this tragedy can come an opportunity to hold these extremists accountable and demonstrate the world’s shared commitment to combat terrorism,” Johndroe said.
On Monday, Ms. Perino welcomed Pakistan’s pledge to cooperate in the investigation as a “good and positive step”, saying, “I have heard nothing that says that the Pakistani government was involved.”
this news published by www.apakistannews.com
