'Pak terror groups played serious role in attacks in India'

Terrorist groups operating from Pakistani soil have played a "very serious role" not just in attacks in India but also in Pakistan, a senior British lawmaker said on Monday.

"Both India and Pakistan face serious threats internally from terrorism which has attacked these two countries in recent years," said Labour Member of Parliament Mike Gapes, who is also the Chairman of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

"Our view is very strong that terrorist groups operating from Pakistan have played a very serious role not just in attacks in India but also attacks in Pakistan itself," he said.

The British lawmaker said there is a common threat to both India and Pakistan from terrorist groups just like there are threats of such groups in the United Kingdom and in Afghanistan.

"We face a common enemy of terrorist groups that have originated from the region particularly from the area of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan," Gapes told a news channel, a day after releasing a report which said Lashkar-e-Tayiba may have carried out the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

He asked both the neighbouring countries to improve their relations.