ISLAMABAD, Jan 5: The United States urged Pakistan on Monday to track down and punish culprits involved in the Mumbai terror attacks and welcomed New Delhi’s move to share information with Islamabad.

Talking to reporters after meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, National Security Adviser Mehmood Durrani and presidential aide Salman Farooqi, US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said that the Indian move “would help Pakistan … track down the culprits”.

Calling for better information sharing between India and Pakistan, Mr Boucher said cooperation was the best way for India and Pakistan to prevent recurrence of similar attacks.

Mr Boucher said: “This is clear: they (the attackers) had links in Pakistan. The attackers had links that lead to Pakistan.”

Mr Boucher also said that Pakistan had taken prompt action against groups accused of being involved in planning and executing the attacks.

He noted that actions taken against militant groups matched the Pakistan’s commitment to clamp down on sources of terrorism operating within its territory.

The US, he said, wanted action against these groups to continue.

Mr Boucher said: “There is determination here to follow up and find the groups that are responsible so they never do it again.”

Asked to comment on the new Indian allegation of involvement of Pakistan’s state or state-assisted actors in the Mumbai attacks, Mr Boucher said that everyone needed to follow the evidence and not jump to conclusions.

He described the situation on the Pakistan-India border as calm and urged both countries to avoid provocative actions that could lead to hostilities. “We want neither side to take steps that can be misinterpreted.”

He said everyone should focus on bringing the perpetrators of the attack to justice.

Mr Boucher visited the recently re-opened Marriott Hotel and spent some time there.