The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Islamabad

Pakistan's decision to fire its national security adviser has exposed cracks within the shaky, civilian government as it faces growing U.S. and Indian pressure to punish the alleged plotters of the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

The move against Mahmood Ali Durrani, a former ambassador to Washington and a proponent of close ties with India, came hours after he and other top officials told reporters that the sole surviving Mumbai attacker was a Pakistani citizen. A spokesman for Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Durrani was fired late Wednesday because "he gave media interviews on national security issues without consulting the prime minister."

Indian media quoted Durrani as saying earlier that Mohammed Ajmal Kasab was Pakistani, while other top Pakistani officials separately confirmed it to media outlets. There was no sign that the other officials would also be fired, suggesting that Durrani's ouster was caused by other, unpublicized reasons.

India had long alleged that Kasab - along with nine other militants who died during the siege - were Pakistani. Islamabad's refusal to acknowledge this was seen as a sign it was not prepared to follow through on vows to crack down on the organizers of the November attacks.

Doubts over Pakistan's commitment have been fueled by suspicions that the attackers were from Lashkar-e-Taiba - a militant group created by Pakistani intelligence agencies in the 1980s to fight Indian rule in Kashmir, a Himalayan region claimed by both countries and the trigger for two of their three wars since 1947.

Some analysts say the group maintains ties to the powerful military-run spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence and that the government cannot act too aggressively against it as a result.

The United States is pushing for Islamabad to dismantle Lashkar and other militant groups, but does not want to destabilize the pro-Western government while al-Qaida and Taliban militants gain strength close to the Afghan border.

Durrani, a former general, had advocated improving India-Pakistan ties and was seen by some critics as too pro-American. There had been no public sign or media speculation in recent days that he was on his way out.