India says hands Mumbai attack evidence to Pakistan

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India handed over evidence on Monday to Pakistan that it said linked Pakistani militants to the Mumbai attacks and demanded a prompt investigation, piling diplomatic pressure on its nuclear-armed rival.

India has blamed Pakistani militants for the November attacks, which killed 179 people and reignited tension between the neighbors who have fought three wars since 1947, but this is the first time it has handed over evidence to Islamabad.

Foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said it "beggars the imagination" that no Pakistani officials knew about preparations for the assault on India's financial hub.

"It's hard to believe that something of this scale, that took so long in the preparation and of this nature, which amounts really to a commando attack, could occur without anybody, anywhere in the establishment knowing," Menon told reporters.

The evidence included a confession from the man India says is the lone surviving gunman, details of communications links with "elements in Pakistan," and data retrieved from GPS and satellite phones, India's foreign ministry said.

Pakistan said it would look into the evidence.

"It is our duty, my duty, to examine the dossier carefully, understand it and be truthful to myself, to my country and the neighborhood," Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told Reuters.

While a similar attack on India's parliament in 2001 nearly sparked a war after a massive build-up of forces on their border, this time New Delhi has focused on diplomatic initiatives, especially winning support from the United States.

On Monday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher was in Islamabad for meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and other government leaders on issues including the Mumbai attacks.

"I think there's determination here to follow-up, find those responsible, the groups responsible ... making sure they can't do it again," Boucher told reporters in Islamabad.

NOT IMPRESSED

Boucher said Pakistan had done "quite a bit," detaining a "significant number" of operatives of the militant group India says was behind the attacks, and shutting down offices of a charity the United Nations says is a front for the group.

But he said there had been "not much" cooperation between the two countries and urged more: "The two sides need to exchange information, follow up each other's leads."

India says that it has not been satisfied by Pakistan's response. New Delhi wants Islamabad to dismantle what it says are terrorist training camps on Pakistani territory and extradite 40 suspects.

"Frankly what we have seen so far does not impress us," Menon said." "What we want is ... to bring the perpetrators to Indian justice and to guarantee that there are no terrorist attacks from Pakistan on India. As of now all we have seen is denial or confusing and contradictory statements."

Pakistan says it will act if India provides proof but will not hand over Pakistanis to India. Instead, it says it will prosecute anyone found involved. Many Indians suspect Pakistan will do the minimum needed to fend off pressure.

Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said on Sunday the attacks pointed to involvement of Pakistani "state actors," hinting at a role by its powerful military spy agency, the ISI.

Qureshi said Chidambaram's statement was "speculation."

Analysts say security elements within Pakistan such as the ISI may want to provoke tension with India as an excuse to move troops from its western border with Afghanistan, where troops are waging an unpopular, costly war against Taliban militants.

A decision by Pakistan to move troops to its eastern border with India would worry Washington, which is preparing a troop surge to battle Taliban militants in Afghanistan.

Boucher said neither India nor Pakistan wanted military confrontation.

Some analysts also say India has placed too much faith in the United States and may be disappointed.

"I think that Pakistan has led itself to believe that the U.S. and NATO allies need Pakistan so much that there is precious little the United States will do," said G. Parthasarathy, a former ambassador to Pakistan.

(Additional reporting by Simon Denyer in New Delhi and Robert Birsel in Islamabad; Editing by Simon Denyer and Charles Dick)