China asks India, Pak to investigate cause of Mumbai attack

BEIJING: China appealed to India and Pakistan to maintain calm and work together to investigate the "cause" of the terror attack on Mumbai and "identify its mastermind", on Tuesday.

"We hope to see the improvement of Indian-Pakistani relations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular press conference responding to questions on the South Asia situation in the aftermath of the November 26 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Qin said that the identity of the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks "awaited further investigation by concerned countries," indicating that Beijing was still unsure about New Delhi's assertion that all the 10 attackers were Pakistanis.

He called on India and Pakistan to "work together through peaceful consultations to investigate the cause of the attacks and combat terrorism," the official news agency reported.

"We hope the region will maintain its peace and stability," Qin said.

He said the improvement and development of the relationship between India and Pakistan, both important nations in South Asia, would help regional peace and stability.

China would, as always, support efforts by both countries to improve bilateral relations and safeguard regional peace, Qin said.

He noted that China had strongly denounced the Mumbai attacks.

"We agree that the international community should cooperate to fight terrorism," Qin said.