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Pakistan admits India attack link Pakistan admits India attack link
(9 minutes later)
A senior Pakistani official has admitted for the first time that last year's attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai were partly planned in Pakistan.A senior Pakistani official has admitted for the first time that last year's attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai were partly planned in Pakistan.
Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said that several suspects are now being held and a case has been filed which may lead to their prosecution. Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said that a number of suspects from the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group had been held and may be prosecuted.
At least 173 people were killed in November's attacks.At least 173 people were killed in November's attacks.
Tensions between India and Pakistan rose after Delhi said all 10 gunmen were Pakistani. Tensions between between India and Pakistan rose after Delhi said all 10 gunmen were Pakistani.
Pakistan denied any responsibility in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, but later it admitted that the sole gunman captured alive was Pakistani. Pakistan denied any responsibility in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, but later admitted that the sole gunman captured alive was one of its citizens.
On Thursday Mr Malik told a news conference: "Some part of the conspiracy has taken place in Pakistan. We have lodged an FIR [first information report] into the case." 'Mastermind'
On Thursday Mr Malik told a news conference that legal steps had begun against eight suspects which could lead to prosecutions.
"Some part of the conspiracy has taken place in Pakistan. We have lodged an FIR [first information report] into the case," he told a news conference in Islamabad.
He said six of the suspects "are now in custody" while two others remain at large. It is not clear when the suspects were arrested - Pakistan said in January that 71 suspects had been detained. Arrests began in early December.
Both countries have large numbers of troops near their respective borders
"The attackers left from Karachi on a boat hired from Balochistan [province]," Mr Malik said. "An e-mail claiming responsibility for the attack was sent by Zarrar Shah of the Lashkar-e-Taiba."
Mr Shah was arrested at a Lashkar camp in December in Pakistani-administered Kashmir by security forces.
Another man arrested at the time was Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, described as Lashkar's chief of operations.
Mr Malik named Hamad Amin, a Karachi resident currently in Pakistani custody as the mastermind behind the attacks.
His remarks follow continuing pressure from the Indian government and the international community over Pakistan's response.
India has consistently accused Pakistan of not doing enough to arrest those behind the attacks.
The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad says that this is the first time that the Pakistani authorities have acknowledged the full extent of the charges made by the Indian government.
Our correspondent says it also is the first time a serving Pakistan government official has acknowledged that a foreign terror plot was hatched in Pakistan - an admission that could hold serious implications for the country's security establishment.
'State elements''State elements'
India has accused the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group of being behind the Mumbai attack and has demanded that some of its leaders be extradited to Delhi. Thursday's remarks by Mr Malik come after two months of rising tensions between India and Pakistan.
It has also suggested what it calls Pakistani "state elements" were involved, something Islamabad denies. Delhi has handed over a dossier to the Pakistani government which it says contains evidence to support its case. The Indian government has demanded that Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders be extradited, while Pakistan has insisted any prosecutions would take place on its soil.
Last month Pakistan said it had arrested 71 people in a crackdown on groups allegedly linked to the attacks. Delhi has also suggested that what it calls Pakistani "state elements" were involved, something Islamabad has consistently denied.
Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said then that officials had also shut several schools run by a charity linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba. Islamabad also derided the contents of a dossier which Delhi said contained evidence to support its case.
Pakistan was serious about fighting extremism, he added, but it needed more information from India to prosecute suspects in court. Officials said they had also shut several schools run by a charity linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Earlier this week Pakistan said it wanted to prosecute suspects in the Mumbai attacks but needed more evidence from India to do so.