Pakistan said today it was ready to help India's investigation into the Mumbai bomb explosions that killed 186 people.
But a foreign ministry spokeswoman rejected Indian accusations that an "infrastructure of terrorism" existed in Pakistan.
"Pakistan stands ready along with the international community to help India's investigation, because terrorism is a global problem," a spokeswoman said. She said such help would not be dependent on a resolution of Pakistan's dispute with India over Kashmir.
President Pervez Musharraf made a similar offer to share information to help Indian investigators in the aftermath of a series of bomb blasts that killed 69 people in New Delhi last October.
India has reacted angrily to remarks by Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri in Washington that sought to link the blasts with outstanding disputes between the two countries.
"We find it appalling that Foreign Minister Kasuri should seek to link this blatant and inhuman act of terror against men, women and children to the so-called lack of resolution of disputes between India and Pakistan," an external affairs ministry spokesman said.
The spokesman also urged Pakistan to take steps to dismantle an "infrastructure of terrorism" on its soil. Pakistan said the accusation was baseless.
The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan are due to meet in New Delhi on July 20th to discuss confidence-building measures between the nuclear-armed neighbours, which have fought three wars since independence in 1947.
Indian police said earlier they had detained about 20 people in connection with Tuesday's bombings, and had prepared sketches of three suspects seen at the bomb sites.
"We have questioned 250 to 300 people as part of the investigations in two days," said AN Roy, Mumbai's police chief.
"Around 20 people have been detained at various places." Television said many people were picked up from hotels and guest houses in the city.