'Pak no longer has any direct control over LeT'

Former Central Investigative Agency deputy director John McLaughlin, a 32-year veteran of the agency who has studied the Lashkar-e-Tayiba extensively, believes that while the "Pakistani intelligence was instrumental in helping to create the LeT in the outset, these days it's not at all clear that the Pakistani intelligence has any direct control over this group."

He said he was skeptical that even rogue elements in the Inter Services Intelligence today held any sway over this group. "I am very skeptical at this point, because for the most part, Pakistani intelligence is very responsive to civilian authority and at this point, the larger problem Pakistan has is its own internal terrorist problem that is preoccupying the Pakistani intelligence and military."

McLaughlin, appearing on a roundtable on CNN's Late Edition programme, reiterated, "If anything, I would suspect that Lashkar may have gotten off the leash here and may be operating beyond the scope of any direction that it might have received in the past."

Frances Townsend, United States President George W Bush's former homeland security adviser, who has also studied the LeT for years, said this terrorist group has gotten "incredible capability and when you look at the sophistication of this attack -- they have this capability."

Agreeing with McLaughlin that the ISI may not have any control over the LeT anymore, she said Pakistan itself "has suffered its own bouts with terrorism now," perhaps at the hands of the LeT, and that the Mumbai attacks "is well beyond anything that Pakistan would have sanctioned or supported."

Townsend said it's time for India and Pakistan to "put past tensions aside to focus on this common terrorism problem because there is actually a lot of operational information and intelligence they can share."

She rubbished the contention by Indian authorities that about 10 to 12 terrorists had done all the damage over three days in multiple locations in Mumbai.

"It's complete nonsense," Townsend asserted. "There is no way that a multi-pronged attack like this--as sophisticated logistically as it was, was carried out by 10 or 12 people. It would have required people on the ground."

She acknowledged, "They'll be very difficult to find, but there would have been ground support, inside Mumbai, inside India, and that ought to be the name of the game right now -- to identify them. Because, until you identify and wrap up the network, you continue to be at risk."

McLaughlin, asked about reports that the US intelligence agencies had passed on some information to the Indian intelligence agencies that terror attacks on hotels in Mumbai were a possibility, said, "My experience with the Indian intelligence services is that they are very good individually, but they do not talk to each other as much as they should within India."

"So, it's possible that information was passed to them but didn't get fully circulated within the Indian system. I don't know that for a fact, but that's what my experience would suggest," he added.