Pakistan condemns attack on Babri Mosque site in India
By Aziz Malik - Pakistan Times Federal Bureau Chief

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tuesday condemned the terrorist attack on the site of Babri Mosque in the Ayodhya city of India.

The Foreign Office spokesman condemned the attack and stated that Pakistan is against terrorism in all its forms. He expressed the hope that the incident would not affect the confidence building measures between Pakistan and India.

At least five unidentified militants used a car bomb to blow up a security wall before storming Babri Mosque site on Tuesday, setting off a fierce gun battle with police and paramilitary forces that left all the attackers dead, a senior Indian official said.

India admits security Lapse

The Indian government on Tuesday admitted security lapses that led to a terror attack on the disputed Babri mosque-Ramjanmabhoomi complex in Ayodhya in which six armed men were gunned down by security forces.

Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal, who happened to be in Uttar Pradesh, met Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav here and reportedly said the militants could not have entered the complex if the security had been "tight enough".

The sprawling 80-acre steel barricaded complex has a multi-layered security cordon. Officials said the terrorists, who probably entered from the back, were holed up only 150 m away from the makeshift temple, which came up on the debris of the Babri mosque that had been razed by Hindu zealots in December 1992.

Reports say the state police had recently reduced the forces around the complex. Bahujan Samaj Party's Mitrasen Yadav, who is the MP from Faizabad, said the state's decision might have inspired the militants to attempt an attack on a sensitive religious institution.

High Alert

Security has been beefed up across major cities and religious places in India following a terrorist attack at Babri Mosque site in Ayodhya on Tuesday.

Specific security measures were taken at RSS Headquarters and temples and police and security personnel deployed there have been put on maximum alert, police sources said.

Top officials of Delhi Police are monitoring the situation, they added.

Manmohan Reax

Meanwhile, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday strongly condemned the militant attack on disputed Ram Temple in Ayodhya and declared the government's "determination and resolve" to deal firmly with such acts of terrorism which are a threat to India's security and polity.

"The government views the incident as a serious one. All states have been alerted to take adequate precautions for protecting monuments, security installations and religious places", he said describing the attack as "unfortunate".

Manmohan, who was scheduled to undertake an aerial survey of the flood-stricken areas in Gujarat state, cancelled his visit in the wake of the attack.

Reiterating country's resolve not to allow terrorist element to succeed in their nefarious designs, the Prime Minister said "particular attention has been drawn towards maintaining communal harmony, peace and public order", according to PM media advisor Sanjaya Baru.

Observing that the attackers were killed during the shootout, Manmohan Singh said, "it is also fortunate that no damage occurred to the physical structure at the site of the incident".

The Episode

Earlier Tuesday, six gunmen made an attempt to storm the Ramjanmabhoomi in Ayodhya who were later killed in an encounter with the security forces.

They were killed after storming site of Babri Mosque, prompting India to put security forces on alert nationwide to prevent sectarian violence.

Police and officials said the unidentified attackers shot their way into the complex in Ayodyha, site of the Babri mosque that was demolished by Hindu right-wingers in 1992 and triggered deadly riots across the country.

The men holed up inside the 80-acre (26 hectare) compound and were killed in a two-hour gun battle with security forces at the site.

India's federal cabinet reviewed the attack in an already scheduled meeting on Tuesday and put security forces on alert across the country to guard against possible violent sectarian protests.

The gunmen drove up to the grounds around 9:00 am (03:30 GMT) and were challenged by security personnel. They immediately began firing and rushed into a nearby building, Uttar Pradesh state home secretary Alok Sinha told foreign news agency.

Sinha said five bodies were found inside the building while one of the attackers had been gunned down outside. Police seized three AK-47 assault rifles, one carbine and three hand-grenades.

"This has been a successful operation as the police officials managed to have everything in control just within two hours," Sinha said. Three policemen
were wounded.

Senior BJP officials broke off from a scheduled meeting with Hindu nationalist supporters elsewhere to express concern over the attack and appeal for a peaceful protest, local news agency reported.

Former home minister and current opposition leader LK Advani, said Tuesday's attack was a surprise. "I would not say anything," Advani told reporters. "I have simply said that it is surprising and worrying that terrorists reached the complex with AK-47s."●