NEW DELHI, Jan 4: Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram has rejected Pakistan’s suggestion that the perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage were non-state actors and indicated that the terrorists may have been trained by one or more state security specialists.

“Somebody who is familiar with intelligence and who is familiar with commando operations has directed this operation. And that cannot be a non-state actor,” Mr Chidambaram told NDTV in an interview.

“In fact, I presume they are state actors or state-assisted actors unless the contrary is proved. It was too enormous a crime and required elaborate planning, communication networks, financial backing. It was a very, very sophisticated operation,” he added.

Mr Chidambaram said that a DNA test on Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only surviving gunman from the Mumbai attacks, with the man identified by Pakistani journalists as his father in Faridkot in Pakistan could prove he is a Pakistani national. “His (Kasab) DNA is available. Now, if someone matches the two, it would be clear who is right and who is wrong.”

Pakistan has said there is no evidence that Kasab is a Pakistani national.

The home minister is expected to travel to the United States next week with a dossier of evidence compiled by Indian investigative agencies on the people who carried out the attacks. He maintained that the evidence against Pakistan was overwhelming.

“The evidence leads to the conclusion that the plot was hatched in Pakistan and as the operation in Mumbai was on, it was masterminded and controlled from Pakistan. When I say Pakistan, I mean Pakistani territory,” he said.

The home minister also pointed out that it was up to Pakistan to ensure that such terror acts were never repeated by its citizens against India.

“The price they will pay if this is repeated will be enormous,” he warned.

Mr Chidambaram is expected to meet US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and possibly Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during his visit.

A meeting with members of the transition team of President-elect Barack Obama is also said to be on the cards.

The dossier Mr Chidambaram will carry with him includes Kasab’s confession to the police in which he has reportedly given details of how he became a motivated terrorist of the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

It is also believed to include records of the logbook recovered from the vessel in which the 10 terrorists came from Karachi, records of the satellite phone used by the attackers and transcript of conversations between the attackers and their handlers in Pakistan, sources said.

The dossier is also said to include corroborative evidence tracking the journey of the attackers from Karachi to Mumbai.