MUMBAI: French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned Pakistan on Tuesday for allowing extremist “safe havens” in the Tribal Areas, as he paid tribute to the victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Sarkozy, in Mumbai on the last day of a four-day visit to India, said it was “unacceptable” that terror networks could find refuge in Pakistan and use it as a springboard to attack India, French troops in Afghanistan or other countries.
“It is unacceptable that India’s security can be threatened by groups of terrorists acting from neighbouring countries,” he said at the Oberoi hotel, one of the luxury hotels besieged by militants in November 2008.
“It is unacceptable for Afghanistan and for our troops that the Taliban and Al Qaeda find safe haven in the border regions of Pakistan. We know the price that the Pakistani people are paying for terrorism.
But it is unacceptable for the world that terrorist acts should be masterminded and carried out by terrorist groups in Pakistan…I call on all Pakistani authorities to step up their efforts and show that they are resolute in combating these criminals,” he added.
