NEW DELHI, November 22 (Sputnik) — Terrorism in India is backed by Pakistan, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Saturday.
"Terrorism in India is fully Pakistan-sponsored," Singh said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in Delhi. "Pakistan says non-state actors are involved. But is ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence] a non-state actor? ISI is aiding terrorism in India."
Singh said Indians want to have cordial relations with Pakistan, however he noted that Islamabad did not seem to be too keen on establishing friendly relations with New Delhi.
Singh also slammed Pakistan for providing shelter to Dawood Ibrahim, the mastermind behind the 1993 Mumbai blasts. Over 350 people were then killed in a series of 13 bomb explosions in Mumbai.
"When the Pakistani prime minister came to India, our prime minister told him to hand over Dawood. We are pursuing it. We are trying to build diplomatic pressure as he [Dawood] is the most wanted criminal," Singh added.
Rajnath also blamed Pakistan for not undertaking the right measures to punish the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, noting that the trial of those responsible for the attack is progressing very slowly in Pakistan.
Since British India was dissolved, and India and Pakistan were established as modern states in 1947, the two countries have fought four wars and exchanged border skirmishes, mostly because of Kashmir region, which the two countries hold territorial claims to.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have increased following the recent ceasefire violations along the border, with both countries accusing one another of violating the ceasefire agreed in 2003.
