January 07, 2009	Wednesday	Muharram 09, 1430

WASHINGTON, Jan 6: The US State Department said on Tuesday that both India and Pakistan would have to come together to trace those responsible for the Nov 26 terror attacks on Mumbai.

“Each side … has pieces of the puzzle that the other doesn’t,” said the department’s spokesman Sean McCormack. “And so it’s in their interest to work together.”

US officials have already said they are willing to work with both India and Pakistan to probe the attacks.

The department’s latest statement on the need for working together follows speculations in Washington that the Americans have proposed forming a joint investigation team to probe the attacks.

The proposed team will include investigators from India, Pakistan and the United States. Indian and Pakistani investigators will be able to visit each other and jointly interrogate the suspects.

Mr McCormack said that the proposed cooperation between India and Pakistan will help them “get the full picture, and … to act to prevent attacks, as well as to bring to justice those responsible.”

The State Department spokesman noted that the US administration had already talked about the origins of the attack coming from Pakistani soil and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice emphasised this point during her last visit to the region.

Asked to comment on India’s decision to share the evidence with Pakistan as “encouraging”, but noted that both India and Pakistan needed to take steps to control tensions.

“Now, of course, tensions need to be managed, and thus far it would seem that the two sides have an interest in doing that,” he said.

“The common enemies here are the violent extremists. The greatest threat isn’t from each other, whether that be India or Pakistan; it’s from the violent extremists,” he added.