India Calls Attack State-Sponsored Terror

The Indian government Tuesday accused Pakistan of trying to wipe out its leadership, insisting that its neighbor and longtime rival sponsored a suicide attack on the Parliament building here last week.

Pakistan repeated its denial of any role in Thursday’s attack and warned India against any military action across their tense border. The attack left 13 people dead, including the five assailants,

“Last week’s attack on parliament is undoubtedly the most audacious and most alarming act of terrorism in the history of two decades of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in India,” Indian Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani said in a speech to parliament broadcast live on television.

“The ghastly attack . . . on the very bastion of democracy was clearly aimed at wiping out our political leadership,” said Advani, who is in charge of police and security. “It could have been an utter catastrophe.”

Advani repeated India’s accusation that the attack was carried out by two Pakistan-based militant groups, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, which have been fighting to separate the northern majority-Muslim province of Jammu and Kashmir from India for 12 years.

He said that the five gunmen were Pakistani and that Pakistan’s intelligence agency supported the attack.

Pakistan denies sponsoring the attack and said Tuesday that India is trying to avoid talks over Kashmir, which has plagued relations between the South Asian neighbors.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdus Sattar said that if India “believes that its allegations are right, then India should take the matter to the Security Council” at the United Nations.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that any cross-border intrusion by India “will receive a swift and strong response and could have grave repercussions for the region.”

Indian Deputy Foreign Minister Omar Abdullah said the government was carefully considering its options.

“Force, violence and war will never be our first option. This I can assure you on behalf of the government,” he told parliament.