India reserves right to strike Pakistan in response to Mumbai attack

Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee has declined to rule out the use of military force against Pakistan in response to the terrorist attack on Mumbai.

Announcing that India was withdrawing from the four-year bilateral peace process with Islamabad, Mukherjee said on 3 December that he would not be "making comments on military options" and that "every sovereign country has a right to protect its territorial integrity and take appropriate action as and when it feels necessary".

On 4 December Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari promised "strong action" against those responsible for the attack, although he questioned Indian claims that the terrorists had all been Pakistanis. India had earlier demanded that Pakistan hand over 20 high-profile suspects, while US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on a visit to Islamabad and Delhi, said Pakistan needed to "co-operate fully and transparently" and with "resolve and urgency".

Meanwhile, an Indian National Security Guard (NSG) commando who led one of the three five-man teams that fought terrorists inside Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace hotel has told Jane's that the attackers were highly trained, professional operatives.

"They were ferocious fighters, disciplined and motivated," he said shortly after the siege ended on 29 November. "Their fire discipline was excellent and they used their ammunition judiciously, mostly to draw us out," he added.

Image: Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee (PA Photos)