NEW DELHI, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- India on Tuesday blamed Pakistan-based Islamic rebels for the attack on its parliament and vowed the punishment would fit the crime.
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee told lawmakers from his Bharatiya Janta Party that India will crush terrorism and track down those behind Thursday's daring attack.
"I can tell you the punishment will be as big as the crime," V.K. Malhotra, a senior party member, quoted Vajpayee as saying.
India's home minister, Lal Krishan Advani, said the suicide attack was aimed at wiping out the country's top politicians.
Advani said India was considering "all options" to punish the perpetrators.
Thirteen people were killed in the attack, including the five gunmen who tried to storm the parliament building but were stopped by security men.
"The investigation by police shows all five terrorists that formed the squad were Pakistani nationals," Advani said.
Pakistan's government has denied India's allegations and said it is willing to take action if India provides proof.
Vajpayee also rejected a Pakistani offer to conduct a joint probe, saying "the crime has been committed on our soil, so we will probe it and we will punish the guilty."
India's BJP lawmakers are demanding strikes on guerrilla training camps in Pakistani side of Kashmir. Islamabad has vowed to retaliate against any military adventure by India.
Both nations have amassed troops along the border.
The United States says India has the right to self-defense but insisted caution must be exercised.
Secretary of State Colin Powell said in an NBC interview "Washington was encouraging both sides to share information with each other and to come together in this campaign against terrorism."
"Some people have been asking us to exercise restraint. We have been exercising restraint so far but what this will result in," Vajpayee said.
