President begs India not to punish Pakistan after attacks

PAKISTAN president Asif Ali Zardari has appealed to India not to punish his country for last week's attacks in Mumbai, saying militants have the power to precipitate a war in the region.

Mr Zardari, whose wife, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated by Islamist militants last year, warned that provocation by rogue "non-state actors" posed the danger of a return to war between the neighbours, who are both armed with nuclear weapons.

Analysts say the Mumbai assaults by Islamist militants, which killed 183 people, bore the hallmarks of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based group blamed for previous attacks in India, but in an interview, Mr Zardari asked: "Even if the militants are linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, who do you think we are fighting?"

"We must all stand together to fight out this menace."

• A suicide car-bomber killed eight people today in an attack aimed at a military checkpost in northwest Pakistan's Swat Valley, military officials said.