Pakistan has arrested 71 people in a crackdown on groups allegedly linked to the Mumbai attacks, officials said Thursday, while adding that the information India has handed over needs work before it can be used as evidence in court.
Still, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik dodged a question on whether he was conceding that the plot — which killed 164 people in India’s commercial capital and raised tension between the nuclear-armed rivals — was hatched on Pakistani soil.
By MUNIR AHMAD, Associated Press Writer
India says a Pakistan-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, masterminded the November attack. In the days afterward, the U.N. Security Council declared that Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charity in Pakistan, was merely a front for the outlawed militant organization.
On Thursday, the Interior Ministry said 71 leaders of the groups had been arrested since then — nearly a score more than previously announced. Another 124 have been placed under surveillance and must register their every move with police.
Ministry chief Rehman Malik initially said that 124 people had been detained. But his deputy, Kamal Shah, later told The Associated Press that Malik had misspoken.
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p_on_re_as/as_pakistan_india
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