January 07, 2009	Wednesday	Muharram 09, 1430

NEW DELHI: India launched a new propaganda campaign against Pakistan on Tuesday alleging that state authorities “must have had” a hand in the Mumbai terror attacks.

Stopping short of directly blaming Islamabad for sponsoring the attacks, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh repeated allegations that the attack was carried out by militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

But in his most forceful speech since the November attacks, he said “there is enough evidence to show that, given the sophistication and military precision of the attack, it must have had the support of some official agencies in Pakistan”.

The careful phrasing of Mr Singh’s comments seemed aimed at keeping tensions between the bitter rivals at a low burn.

Mr Singh also charged Pakistan with “whipping up war hysteria” and criticised what he called its reluctance to crack down on militants operating on its territory.

“Unfortunately, we cannot choose our neighbours,” the Indian premier said. “Some countries like Pakistan have in the past encouraged and given sanctuary to terrorists and other forces who are antagonistic to India.”

He spoke before a meeting with senior officials from around the country to discuss security concerns in the latest in a recent ratcheting up of Indian rhetoric.

Mr Singh was also highly critical of how Pakistan had handled the investigations into recent attacks, indicating Pakistan had been unwilling — or perhaps unable — to crack down on terrorists operating on its soil.

“The more fragile a government, the more it tends to act in an irresponsible fashion,” he remarked.

Mr Singh also criticised India’s own security and intelligence operations, which have been excoriated as ineffective and threadbare since the attacks. He called for better maritime security, improved intelligence sharing and stronger local police forces.—Agencies