Pak can't rent out its land to terror shops, says Boucher

MUMBAI: The US assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher has come out strongly against terror groups that carried out attacks on Mumbai. ���We want to know who did it and how they did it. We want to make sure that these groups who did it are shut down and put out of operation,��� he said to reporters.

Mr Boucher is in India after visiting Pakistan. While stating that Pakistan ���has suffered a lot from terror���, he maintained that it was also a place from where these terror groups operate.

According to him, it would be difficult for Pakistan to have one group operating in Kashmir and another in Mumbai. Mr Boucher made it clear that closing down these places is ���legitimate and that is what we want to ensure��� when asked if India were to carry out surgical strikes against terror groups across the border. ���None of us, including Pakistan, India and the US, is safe as long as terror groups are tolerated,��� he added.

Mr Boucher said Pakistan had made a ���promising start��� in the fight against terror but there is a lot that still needs to be done. On the steps taken by Pakistan after the Mumbai terror attacks, Mr Boucher said that ���Pakistan has put a lot of people in custody and acted against some organisations. We need to ensure that attacks like 26/11 don���t recur���.

India���s response to Mumbai���s attacks, he maintained, is one which the US would cooperate with and support. To a question if Pakistan���s nuclear capability was a factor to be considered for India to formulate its response to the 26/11 strikes, Mr Boucher said: ���I don���t think Pakistan having nuclear weapons is the most important factor���.

It was clear that India could bank on the US on this issue. ���You can rely on the United States,��� he said when asked if the US would help get terrorists wanted by India from Pakistan. Asked what would be the US response if Mumbai-like attacks were to take place there, Mr Boucher said, ���We would react in a way we think is the most effective way to stop terror attacks���.

Asked if the probe into the Mumbai terror attacks had yielded information about who was behind them, he said it was too early to talk about it. ���The probe into the Mumbai attack was an Indian investigation and the US personnel are in India primarily in a supportive role��� he said.