27 Feb 2009,
NEW DELHI: India on Friday rubbished Pakistan navy's claims that Ajmal Kasab and other terrorists didn't use sea route to reach Mumbai.
Home minister P Chidambaram took a dig at Pakistan on Friday for its flip-flops on Mumbai terror attacks.
"I am sure somebody else will refute him tomorrow," Chidambaram said at a press conference here when asked to comment on Pakistani navy chief Admiral Noman Bashir's statement that Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone gunman captured during the Nov 26-29, 2008 carnage, and the nine other terrorists who had attacked Mumbai had not used the sea route to reach the port city, IANS reported.
Asked to comment on Bashir's statement that the Mumbai attacks pointed to the failure of the Indian navy in maintaining vigil, Chidambaram said: "I don't need certificates or appreciation from the Pakistani Navy.
The home minister also said the Indian government was formulating answers to Pakistan's queries on the dossier given to it on the 26/11 terror attacks, adding that many of the answers were contained in the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai police, PTI reported.
"The dossier handed over to Pakistan was irrefutable and solid on facts," said Chidambaram at the press conference.
"Pakistan was forced to admit that its territory was used to carry out attacks. It is a signal victory for Indian government that demonstrates its cohesive diplomacy."
Pakistan has posed 30 queries in response to New Delhi's dossier on the Mumbai terror attack.
"We are formulating the answers but many of the queries are addressed in the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai police," the minister said.
"We expect Pakistan to take its probe to its logical conclusion and punish the perpetrators," he added.
Minister of state for external affairs Anand Sharma in a press conference that preceded the home minister’s also slammed Pakistan’s doublespeak saying, "New Delhi is very clear regarding where the attackers came from,”
“Several countries too have supported our findings on 26/11 probe. Pakistan government too had accepted them. Now their navy is belying its own government’s claims,” Sharma added. "Pakistan has often spoken in different voices (on the Mumbai carnage)," he said.
Meanwhile, Indian naval forces told Times Now, "We have enough proof of the fact that the terrorists came from Pakistan via sea. We have their boats and satellite phones."
Earlier, in a stunning denial Pakistan navy on Friday claimed that Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of the Mumbai attacks, and others didn’t sea route to land in Mumbai.
Pak Admiral Norman Bashir on Friday told reporters, "There is no proof behind Indian claims that Kasab landed in Mumbai to carry out attacks using sea route from Pakistan."
“Mumbai terror attacks reflect a complete failure of Indian navy,” Bashir added.
At the same time, he admitted that patrolling the waters on the Pakistani side of the international border off the Gujarat coast was "difficult" due to the dispute over the Sir Creek, IANS reported.
The latest statement by Pakistan navy is in complete contrast to the findings of the interior ministry in the 26/11 terror probe.
Pakistan had earlier this month accepted that part of the Mumbai conspiracy had been planned on its soil. The country's Federal Investigation Agency has also registered cases against eight people, including Kasab who is in the custody of the Mumbai police, for their role in the terror attacks.
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