Lashkar-e-Taiba denies involvement in Mumbai attacks

Dec 15, 2008, 7:49 GMT

   New Delhi - The Muslim militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has denied British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's accusation that the outfit was responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attacks, a news report said Monday.

   The Pakistan-based LeT also said that Ajmal Kasab, the lone attacker captured alive, was not a member of the organization, the IANS news agency reported.

   'The LeT rejects accusations by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The LeT denied its involvement in the Mumbai attacks but the British Prime Minister levelled an allegation against Lashkar which has no proof,' a press release issued by LeT said, according to IANS.

   'Instead of accepting the mistake of his country, Mr Brown blamed a legitimate freedom-fighting organization. LeT condemns the approach of the British Prime Minister and urges the media to stop the blame game,' LeT spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi said in the communiqué.

   On an unscheduled visit to India on Sunday, Brown backed India's claims about LeT's involvement in the Mumbai attacks in which at least 173 people, including nine terrorists, were killed.

   'We know that there have been arrests in Pakistan and we also know that the group responsible is the LeT and that they have a great deal to answer for,' Brown told reporters when asked whether Pakistan was doing enough to crack down on terrorist outfits operating against India.

   According to Indian officials, the LeT is one of the main Muslim militant groups operating in Indian-administered Kashmir and is headquartered in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

   It has been fighting Indian forces with an aim to create an Islamic state covering Pakistan and Kashmir.

   Kashmir, a disputed region between India and neighbouring Pakistan, has witnessed the deaths of more than 40,000 people - civilians, militants and security forces - in secessionist violence since 1990.

   New Delhi has accused Islamabad of aiding and abetting Kashmiri militants, a charge Pakistan has denied. Islamabad has said it supports the Kashmiris' legitimate aspirations for freedom.