NEW DELHI, Jan 14: Rejecting India’s demand for extradition of ‘suspects’ of the Mumbai attacks, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said the UK supports their prosecution in Pakistan as they have ‘broken the law’ of that country.

“We will support their prosecution under Pakistani law, because they have broken the law in Pakistan. It’s Pakistani law they have broken aswell as international decency and common sense,” Mr Miliband said in Karan Thapar’s ‘Devil’s Advocate’ programme.

There was no extradition treaty between India and Pakistan for handing over suspects, he said.

The British foreign secretary said it had to be ensured that “Pakistani judicial system takes its course” and those found guilty were punished there.

Responding to a question about disappointment in India that he had not endorsed its stand on extradition, Mr Miliband said he had endorsed India’s anguish that the attacks had come from across the border and that the perpetrators of “these terrible crimes” be brought to justice.

“But I think given that we all have worked so hard for an independent, sovereign judicial system in Pakistan we should let it take its own course,” he said.

He, however, said: “We have absolutely no doubt about origin of the Mumbai attacks. The origins are in Pakistan.”

He said the Pakistani authorities had detained these people and “if there is evidence, they should be prosecuted. I say there is evidence, let them be prosecuted and if they are found guilty let them be punished.”

He said terrorism has taken life of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and many other Pakistanis. “They (Pakistan) need to do it for their own good.”

When asked to comment on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s view that official agencies of Pakistan could have been involved in the Mumbai attacks, Mr Miliband said: “We don’t have evidence to show that attacks were directed by the Pakistani government.”

When asked about Mr Singh’s statement that Pakistan was using terrorism as an instrument of state policy, he said: “I have no evidence of Pakistani state directing terrorist activities and I will never make that claim without that evidence. What I know is Pakistan has a very serious terrorism problem.”

He rejected any contention for imposing sanctions on Pakistan by the UK and said: “I don’t think punishing Pakistani people with economic sanctions is going to induce a sort of change.”

He said the UK would “use all appropriate mechanism to make a difference” but made it clear that “military stick” would not help. “There is serious need for reform from within Pakistan.”

On the Pakistani proposal for a joint investigation, he said the two countries should cooperate “but we are not for any particular version of how to cooperate”.

Omar Abdullah’s call

Omar Abdullah, the new Chief Minister of occupied Kashmir, has asked the British Foreign Secretary to persuade the international community to play a greater role in reducing tensions between India and Pakistan.

Interacting with Mr Miliband through a teleconferencing system, he said better India-Pakistan relations would impact positively on the people of Kashmir.—APP