Pakistan's president refuses to hand over Mumbai suspects

Pakistan's president today refused to hand over suspected terrorists to India despite an official extradition request.

Asif Ali Zardari said 20 suspects wanted by India in the wake of the Mumbai attacks will be tried in Pakistan if there is evidence of wrongdoing.

The report on CNN's Larry King Live TV show risked dramatically inflaming tensions with India, which has drawn up a list of fugitives it wants rounded up and extradited.

Mr Zardari said: "At the moment these are just names of individuals. No proof, no investigation, nothing has been brought forward.

"We have offered to take this step forward and co-operate with the Indians. I am willing to have my security adviser and their security in charge have a joint committee, which we have proposed to the Indians for a joint investigation in the Mumbai incident," he added. Asked if Pakistan would turn terrorists over to India if it had the proof, Mr Zardari said: "If we had the proof, we would try them in our courts, we would try them in our land and we would sentence them."

The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in India today to try to ease tensions over last week's attacks in Mumbai, which killed 171 people and wounded 239. She will meet India's prime minister and foreign minister but there was no indication if she will visit Pakistan.

"I want to consult with the Indian government on what we can do to help," Ms Rice said. "I am going to, of course, express solidarity with the Indian people. This was a horrible attack."

Unnamed US officials said the US had warned India about a possible threat - to be launched from the sea - a month before the attacks. Mumbai police chief Hassan Gafoor later confirmed the report, saying that there had been a known threat to at least some of the locations targeted, including the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.

ABC News said the city had been on high alert, but security measures at the hotels had recently been relaxed.