India: Bombs Have Links To Outside

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Pakistan's president on Monday that there were indications of a foreign link to the bombings that tore through two New Delhi markets, and reminded the Pakistani leader of his country's promise to fight terrorism, an official said.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf called Singh to express his condolences, and Singh told him that the investigation into the Saturday's bombing, which killed 59 people, indicated "external linkages of terrorist groups" with the attacks, said Sanjaya Baru, a spokesman for the Indian leader.

While Indian officials had until this point been hesitant to publicly assign blame for the bombings, Indian analysts and newspapers have pointed the finger at Pakistani-based Islamic groups fighting to force India to give up its claim to divided Kashmir.

Baru refused to provide any further details about the supposed foreign links to the attacks, but a little-known Kashmiri group, Islamic Inquilab Mahaz, took credit Sunday for the attack.

Meanwhile, New Delhi slowly crept back to life Monday after weekend bombings killed 59 people, but the two markets targeted in the attacks were unusually quiet on what would have normally been one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

"We have all opened the shops so that no negative message goes out to the people that the shop owners are scared. But there isn't much business. As you can see, the shops are without customers," said a shopkeeper.

During Monday's call, Singh "drew (Musharraf's) attention to Pakistan's commitment to ending cross-border terrorism, and said that he continued to be disturbed and dismayed at indications of external linkages of terrorist groups with the Oct. 29 bombing," said Baru.

The attacks came at a particularly sensitive moment as India and Pakistan hashed out an unprecedented agreement to partially open the heavily militarized frontier that divides the disputed territory of Kashmir to speed relief to victims of the region's Oct. 8 earthquake. The border deal was finalized early Sunday.

Accusations of Pakistani involvement in a 2001 attack on parliament put the nuclear-armed rivals on the brink of war. But they pulled back and both sides now appear intent on maintaining the momentum toward peace despite the latest attacks.

Pakistan's government was quick to condemn the bombings, and Musharraf on Monday called the bombings in New Delhi "a dastardly terrorist attack."

He told reporters his country would fully cooperate in any investigation, and said: "Pakistan stands with India on this act of terrorism which has been perpetrated in New Delhi."

Musharraf's remarks seemed intended to encourage further momentum toward better bilateral relations between the rivals — who have fought three wars — in the wake of the massive quake, which killed an estimated 80,000 people in Kashmir, a Himalayan region split between India and Pakistan.

Pakistan's foreign ministry was quick to condemn the bombings Sunday.

"It was a criminal act and so many innocent lives have been lost in this, so many people have (been) injured," said spokesman Tasnim Aslam. "The people of Pakistan and the government of Pakistan deeply sympathize with the families who have suffered this tragedy."

At the Sorojini Nagar market, one of the two targeted in the attacks, crowds were thin Monday. Most people had come to see the scene of the blast, not shop.

"Normally on this day, the day before Diwali, you wont get any place in my shop to stand," said Harsh Goplan, who runs a clothing store in the market, where 43 people were killed.

"The fact that I am here taking to you, talking to other journalists says it all — that there are no customers today," he said.

At the market and throughout New Delhi, security was tight. Dozens of police in uniform and plainclothes patrolled the streets, most armed with assault weapons.

Sarojini Nagar — considered the city's favorite shopping hub — was busier on Sunday, with some shoppers saying they had come to defy the attackers.

"We came here to express solidarity," said Shibani Mahalanobis, a 66-year-old grandmother who has shopped in the market for 45 years.

Polish diplomat Jindrick Hacker, 37, was at the market Sunday to buy a shoe rack. He compared the attack to the London transit bombings in July, and said he had left his daughters at home rather than take them shopping as planned.

"There is some fear. To not fear will be stupid," he said.

Authorities said they already had gathered useful clues about the bombings. Police said they were questioning "numerous" people.

Police were looking for a man in his 20s who refused to buy a ticket on a bus and got off, leaving behind a large black bag, said Singh, the deputy police chief. The bag caused a panic onboard, prompting the driver and conductor to throw it from the bus just as it exploded, injuring them both and seven others.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since the subcontinent was partitioned at independence from Britain in 1947, two over Kashmir.