India seeks 'strong action' from Pakistan after Mumbai attacks

Mumbai: India on Monday formally accused "elements" in Pakistan of being behind the devastating militant attacks in Mumbai and demanded that Islamabad take "strong action".

The move came after Indian officials said investigations had shown that all the attackers involved in the 60-hour-long assault, which left at least 172 dead and close to 300 wounded, were Pakistani nationals.

The attacks were also described as a "major setback" to the peace process between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

"The High Commissioner of Pakistan was called to the Ministry of External Affairs this evening. He was informed that the recent terrorist attack on Mumbai was carried out by elements from Pakistan," a statement said.

In New Delhi's first formal complaint to Islamabad, India said it "expects that strong action would be taken against those elements, whosoever they may be, responsible for this outrage".

"What has happened is a grave setback to the process of normalisation of relations and the confidence-building measures," Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said.

But Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari said the terrorists who attacked India's financial capital had no links to any government. Zardari called the attackers "non-state actors" and warned against letting their actions lead to greater enmity.

"Such a tragic incident must bring opportunity rather than the defeat of a nation," Zardari said in an interview. "We don't think the world's great nations and countries can be held hostage by non-state actors."

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's fate hung in the balance while the resignation of his deputy, R.R. Patil, was accepted.

Gunmen: Burial refused

A Muslim graveyard has refused to bury nine gunmen who terrorised Mumbai.

The men are not true followers of the Islamic faith, according to the influential Muslim Jama Masjid Trust, which runs the 7.5-acre Badakabrastan graveyard in downtown Mumbai.

"People who committed this heinous crime cannot be called Muslim," said Hanif Nalkhande, a trustee.