Lashkar leaders146; confessions: Pak says no comment

PAKISTAN has refused to confirm or deny a media report which said that two detained Lashkar-e-Toiba LeT commanders have confessed to the group8217;s involvement in the Mumbai attacks...

PAKISTAN has refused to confirm or deny a media report which said that two detained Lashkar-e-Toiba LeT commanders have confessed to the group8217;s involvement in the Mumbai attacks.

8220;I will not comment on it,8221; Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told Geo TV when asked about the Wall Street Journal report which claimed that LeT leaders Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah had confessed to the group8217;s involvement in the Mumbai terror strikes.

8220;Pakistan has launched its own independent investigation, forget what the world or India is saying. We have to take stock of things in-house. We should gauge our own internal matters,8221; he said. 8220;I think I don8217;t believe that government sources are involved here,8221; he added.

Qureshi also rejected India8217;s demand for extradition of the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks. 8220;There is no extradition treaty between India and Pakistan. We are keen on rebuilding our internal institutions. So if we engage in these issues, it will be harmful for Pakistan,8221; he said.

On Thursday, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said that there was no need for an extradition treaty to take action on these matters.

8220;We have made progress in our investigation and we are examining things. We want to examine what the world is saying to us and we are awaiting India8217;s dossier,8221; said Qureshi.

He refused to provide details on the progress that had been made, saying this could affect the probe. Qureshi also made it clear that Pakistan could take forward its investigation and build a case that would stand up in court only after India shared evidence and information on the Mumbaiattacks. 8220;We cannot fudge with or tell lies to the world. Pakistan8217;s credibility is at stake,8221; he said.

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Qureshi also said Pakistan8217;s hands had been strengthened after India said the government and state institutions were not involved in the Mumbai attacks. Asked if India had said the ISI was not involved in the incident, he replied: 8220;They are saying no state institution is involved.8221;

Qureshi said that Pakistan had received information that India was 8220;seriously contemplating surgical strikes8221; and that naval vessels of the eastern command had been shifted to the western command. There was other information on India8217;s preparations that he could not divulge, he said. 8220; Pakistan does not want war but if war is imposed on us, we know how to defend ourselves,8221; he said.