Indian and Pakistani officials agreed to open border crossings in Kashmir to help victims of the earthquake.
New Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The Islami Inqilabi Mahaz (Islamic Revolutionary Group), an obscure Kashmiri militant group, claimed responsibility on Sunday for yesterday bomb blasts in India's capital which killed at least 61 people. However, security officers see the hand of Lashkar-e-Taiba (Force of the Pure), a Pakistan outlaw group, in a new attempt to derail the peace process between India and Pakistan.
On Sunday, Islami Inqilabi Mahaz phoned local newspapers in Indian Kashmir, claiming responsibility for the blasts and warning of more to come.
Yesterday's blasts came within minutes, on a day when many people were out shopping ahead of the Hindu festival of Diwali and the Muslim Eid celebration.
Delhi has been put on high alert and armed police have taken up positions outside key buildings and the main public areas.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh refused to speculate on who might have carried out the blasts, saying only that there were "some clues" which the authorities were trying to piece together. But Indian newspapers were quick to accuse Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammed (Army of Mohammed), radical Pakistan-based groups.
Lashkar and Jaish are both banned in Pakistan, even though experts say they continue to operate under different names. Jamat-ud-Dawa, an Islamist charity linked to Lashkar, has been active in Pakistani Kashmir providing relief to victims of this month's devastating earthquake. Both Lashkar and Jaish are thought to be strongly opposed to the India-Pakistan peace process, and their sympathisers accuse Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf of "selling out" to India over Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region claimed by both countries.
Saturday's blasts came as Indian and Pakistani officials held talks in Islamabad to open border crossings along the military Line of Control in Kashmir to help victims of the earthquake. It was a significant move forward for the two countries, who have been fighting for decades over Kashmir. The decision was announced just hours after the bomb blasts.