UN official warns of LeT strikes on India

NEW DELHI: As India and Pakistan get down to talking terror, a UN official warned that there is a ���real risk��� of the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba targeting India in a bid to increase tension between India and Pakistan and drawing attention away from Pakistan���s western border.

The warning comes at a time when India and Pakistan are trying to institute some of dialogue on countering terror.
"Lashkar-e-Taiba tactics is quite obvious. It is trying to increase tensions between India and Pakistan at a time when they and their associates are particularly under pressure in western Pakistan," Richard Barrett, coordinator of the UN Security Council's al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Monitoring Committee, was quoted as saying at a press conference.

"They may do that again... this is the real risk," said Mr Barrett, who is officially mandated to monitor the Security Council sanctions against the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other terror groups.

The UN official's statement is a vindication of India���s stand that the Lashkar-e-Taiba is still active. India holds the LeT responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks and is closely watching the Mumbai terror attack trial in Pakistan where the accused are top LeT functionaries. New Delhi also agrees with the UN assessment that the LeT is still active and might target India.

The UN official further maintained that the LeT, which is known to specifically target India, is now carrying out attacks within Pakistan. He said that the terror group has carried out several attacks in Lahore and that even Pakistani soldiers in Pakistan occupied Kashmir were targeted by the terror group.

"I think, these groups are real concern to Pakistan," he said. Mr Barrett also said that the LeT also has operational links with the Taliban.

His statement comes at a time when India and Pakistan are talking to each other at the highest level. India has been saying that the terror groups in Pakistan are all interconnected and that Pakistan has to take action against the entire terror infrastructure and not pick and chose the groups it wants to take action against.

Pakistan, under pressure from the US and other members of the international community, has been carrying out an offensive against the Taliban. The US official was suggesting that any attempt to increase tension between India and Pakistan would be done with the aim of turning the focus away from Western Pakistan.

The LeT and many of its members are already on the UNSC consolidated list of terror groups and individuals. LeT is described as a terror organisation on the list while the Jamaat-ud-Dawa is in the list of other names of the LeT.