British Foreign Secretary calls on Prime Minster.

Byline: ANI

New Delhi, Jan 14 (ANI): British Foreign Secretary David Miliband met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh here last evening.

Miliband also met leader of Opposition and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani.

Miliband's visit comes at a time when the relations between India and Pakistan are quite tense over the terror attacks in Mumbai for which India has blamed Pakistan.

Earlier in the day, Miliband had met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and addressed a joint news conference with him.

He told reporters that he believes the Pakistan did not direct the Mumbai attacks, contradicting accusations from the Indian Government that state agencies were involved.

Miliband further added that it was clear the attacks originated from Pakistan and it had to crack down on militants operating on its soil, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which has been blamed for the Mumbai attacks.

Miliband warned that Pakistan faced its modern threat from within its borders and it needed to tackle the roots of militant organisations such as the LeT.

After his fruitful discussions with Mukherjee and Manmohan Singh, Miliband praised India for the 'maturity' and 'wisdom' of its response to the attacks, referring to New Delhi's decision to respond diplomatically rather than militarily to the attacks.

The British Foreign Secretary is scheduled to visit Mumbai and address meetings at Taj and Trident Hotels, the sites of the terror attacks, before departing for Pakistan on January 16. (ANI)

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