India said Monday there would be no knee-jerk reaction to a deadly weekend militant attack in the western city of Pune and planned peace talks with Pakistan next week would go ahead.
The blast at a crowded restaurant claimed nine lives and led to calls for the government to call off talks with Pakistan, which New Delhi accuses of supporting anti-India militants.
Peace talks between the South Asian neighbours were interrupted after attacks on Mumbai in November 2008 in which 166 people were killed by gunmen whom India claims were from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group.
“There is no change,” a government source told when asked if Saturday’s blast in Pune would affect the planned meeting between the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan scheduled for February 25 in New Delhi.
Indian media reports, citing intelligence sources, say the blast bore the hallmarks of the Indian Mujahideen, a militant group that claimed responsibility for a series of bomb blasts in September 2008 in New Delhi.
Another government source said New Delhi would refrain from any “knee-jerk reaction” as investigations into the attack were still going on.
“India has said its focus would be on terrorism” at the talks, the source said.
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