Accused Mumbai gunman requests Pakistani help

Accused Mumbai gunman requests Pakistani help

The lone captured gunman from last month's deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai stated in a letter handed over to Pakistani officials Monday that he is a Pakistani citizen, authorities said.

Suspect Mohammed Ajmal Kasab wrote in a statement that he and the nine other gunmen involved in the Nov. 26 attack all came from Pakistan, India's Foreign Ministry said. He also requested a meeting with Pakistani envoys, the ministry said.

India accuses a Pakistan-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, of masterminding the attacks that killed 164 people and has demanded that Islamabad take strong action against the banned group.

Islamabad so far has refused to acknowledge that Kasab is Pakistani, saying it has had no official confirmation of the suspect's citizenship.

"We are examining the letter," Pakistan High Commission spokesman Abid Saeed said late Monday, confirming that Indian officials had turned the document over to the acting high commissioner.

Kasab is the only accused gunman to survive the three-day standoff with police that followed the attack on two luxury hotels, a train station, a Jewish center and other sites in the bustling city.

The investigation into the attacks has raised tensions between longtime rivals India and Pakistan.

Pakistan has moved against both Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group blamed for the attacks, and Jamaat-ud-Dawam, a charity India and the international community say is a front for Lashkar.

The steps came after the U.N. Security Council banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and Pakistan detained several activists and shut down some of their offices.

But India says Pakistani actions are insufficient and has called on Islamabad to hand over wanted men.