Terror for political goals unacceptable, Germany to Pakistan

BERLIN - In a strong worded message to Pakistan on terrorism, Germany Saturday said it will tell Islamabad that terror as a means to end political issues was “unacceptable”.

“We will talk to Pakistan that terrorism cannot be means to end political issues. Terrorism in unacceptable,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said a joint press conference with visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In a speech to journalists in the federal chancellery building, the Bundeskanzleramt, Merkel said Germany recognizes how “India is suffering as a consequence of terrorism”.

Merkel, in her short speech, also cited the 2008 Mumbai attack blamed on Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Germany’s prodding Pakistan on terror comes a day after the European Union asked Islamabad to bring the perpetrators, authors and accomplices of the Mumbai attack to justice.

Earlier, India-US and India-French joint statements made in Delhi following the visits of US President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy respectively, had also asked Pakistan to act against masterminds of the 26/11 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people.

A joint declaration adopted after the 11th India-EU summit in Brussels Friday said the two sides “called upon Pakistan to expeditiously bring all the perpetrators, authors and accomplices of the Mumbai attacks to justice”.