New Delhi, Dec 12 (Inditop) Germany Friday offered India assistance in combating terrorism and underlined that Pakistan needs to do much more than banning militant outfits to wipe out the scourge originating from that country.“Banning is not enough to forbid others from committing terrorist attacks. Maybe it’s not sufficient. They need to do more,” visiting German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble told reporters here when asked whether banning front outfits like Jamaat-ud-Dawah, a public front for Lashkar-e-Taiba suspected of masterminiding the Mumbai massacre, by Pakistan was enough to stop terrorism flowing from that country.
Schäuble, who was on a day-long visit to India, held talks with his Indian counterpart P. Chidambaram and National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan on strengthening counter-terror cooperation between India and Germany in the wake of the Nov 26 Mumbai terror strikes that killed 179 people, including three Germans. He also called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and conveyed Germany’s full support to India in the fight against terrorism.
“We are ready to send experts and special forces to India to deal with terrorism,” he said when asked about discussions with his Indian interlocutors. The German minister underlined the need for creating a federal agency that brings together police, intelligence and coastal authorities – and for new communication technologies to intercept sensitive messages.
“In some states, the government is not in full control of parts of its intelligence services, even in mature democracies,” Schäuble replied when asked whether he suspected the involvement of Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in planning the Mumabi terror attacks, which India believes were masterminded and executed by elements from Pakistan.
The German minister, however, chose to be circumspect when asked whether he thought the terrorists targeting Mumbai came from Pakistan. “It’s an ongoing investigation. It’s a matter for Indian authorities to decide who are the attackers,” he said.
However, Schäuble said that on the face of it “appeared an Islamic terrorist network that originated in Pakistan”.
“We have to support the Pakistan government in the fight against terrorism,” he said.
