Islamabad: Pakistan on November 4 refuted Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani's accusation that the two suspected militants who were killed in a shopping mall in New Delhi on November 3 planned to strike at its behest to trigger communal violence in India.

Pakistan Foreign Office said that Advani's allegations were "baseless and ludicrous" and reflected the deep anti-Pakistani malaise of the "Hindu fundamentalist leadership".

Pakistan itself was a victim of foreign sponsored terrorism and has been on the forefront of international efforts to combat global terrorism, it said in a statement.

"The government of India would be well advised to undertake impartial investigations into all such incidents which are rooted in an unjust and discriminatory social and political milieu and desist from pointing finger at Pakistan," it added.

Advani had said that the slain terrorists seemed to have come from Pakistan and had set up their base in surrounding areas of the capital to carry out a major strike on the occasion of Diwali.

Meanwhile, the two terrorists, who made a vain bid to attack an upscale shopping plaza in South Delhi, were identified as Pakistani nationals Daoud Ali Ahmed and Izaz Ahmed belonging to banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) backed by Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Delhi police commissioner R S Gupta said on November 4 night.

Daoud Ali Ahmed alias Abu Ahmed and Izaz alias Deepak belonged to Punjab province of Pakistan, he said.

Sent by LeT "launching commander" Anzam Cheema to spearhead terrorist operations in India, mainly in Mumbai and Delhi, the duo had chosen to strike during an important Hindu festival to spread communal tension in the country, he told a private TV channel.

PTI