Washington, Mar. 12: US Senator from Missouri Claire McCaskill has blamed the Lashkar-e-Taiba for the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, the Nov. 26 terrorist attacks in Mumbai and the subway killings in London.

According to the Dawn, she claimed that despite the Lashkar’s involvement in such major attacks, Pakistan was protecting the group and refused to help the US investigate its deeds.

“I don’t think the picture with Pakistan’s cooperation is quite as bleak as you portrayed,” Admiral Blair responded.

He noted that since the Mumbai attacks Pakistan had arrested Lashkar leaders and was taking steps to prosecute them.

“So I think that that particular trend is positive, but it has a ways to go and it’s not a simple progress,” he said.

Senator McCaskill then claimed that the Lashkar had many sympathizers among Pakistanis living in Europe and the United States and was using them for planning attacks in these places.

“I think on the particulars related to Pakistani-Americans and visa-waivers (Pakistanis living in European nations whose citizens do not need visas to visit the US), we’ll have to get back to you,” Admiral Blair was quoted, as saying.

Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, claimed that the ISI had created the Lashkar and asked if the Lashkar was filling up the operational space denied to al-Qaeda.

Admiral Blair sad the ISI or Pakistan government had changed its policy towards Lashkar-e-Taiba partially, but it had not become a force for good in Pakistan or in the region.

Lt. Gen. Maples said he also believed that the Pakistani government had distanced themselves from LeT and had taken some very significant action since the recent past towards the organization. (ANI)