Pakistan offers to help probe attacks

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Pakistan has offered to join with the Indian government to investigate last week's terror attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai, officials said.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi extended the offer in broadcast on national television.

"Both countries will benefit from bilateral engagement. This is not the time for finger-pointing. Terrorism is a major challenge. It is a common enemy," Qureshi said.

The attacks on Mumbai by 10 gunmen killed 174 and injured nearly 300. Indian officials have said the attacks were led by Pakistani elements of the militant group Lashkar-i-Taiba, the newspaper reported.

In an interview to an Indian television station, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said both countries need to fight terrorism, Voice of America reported.

"If they are facing the same problem and we are facing the same problem, and if we go into a blame game those people will be rewarded who have done this (Mumbai attacks) action," Gilani said. "Therefore we should have mutual cooperation to jointly fight against extremism."