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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan denied reports Thursday that a militant arrested last month had confessed to involvement in the Mumbai attacks, saying no conclusions could be made until investigations are complete.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing unnamed officials, that authorities had obtained a confession from a key leader of the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India has blamed for the carnage in Mumbai.
The suspect, Zarar Shah, allegedly told investigators he had played a key role in the planning of the deadly attacks that left 172 dead -- a story the unnamed security official said was backed up by US intercepts of phone calls.
But Pakistani interior ministry spokesman Shahidullah Baig told AFP: "We have no such information. We don't accept that report."
Pakistani police arrested Shah and another key LeT operative, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, in the wake of the attacks as part of a series of raids against the Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa, widely seen as LeT's political wing.
Their arrests came after the United Nations Security Council classified Jamaat-ud-Dawa as a terrorist organisation, obliging UN member states to freeze its assets and leading Islamabad to arrest several senior figures.
A senior government official told AFP Thursday that no conclusions could be drawn from Pakistan's investigations until India shares key evidence with Islamabad about the attacks.
The official, who asked not to be named, added that New Delhi has stated that its probe is ongoing.
Indian media reports have said that Lakhvi chose the team of 10 gunmen that perpetrated the attacks, while Shah allegedly arranged SIM cards and satellite phones used in the November 26-29 siege on India's financial capital.
- AFP/yt
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