India Provides Proof of Mumbai Attacks to Pakistan

Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee and the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai. India gave Pakistan the most detailed evidence yet that it said tied the militants who attacked Mumbai to "elements" in Pakistan.

(AP Photo)

Pakistani Spy Agency Support

But while the Pakistani government had promised to crack down on terrorists -- and did so again today in a meeting between Prime Minister Yusuf Gilani and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher -- groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba were created by and are still supported by elements in Pakistan's powerful spy agency, the ISI, in part to fight against India.

It's not clear whether the Pakistani government is strong enough to charge Lashkar-e-Taiba with the attack in a Pakistani court, which could possibly anger parts of the ISI.

"The military want to take a tougher line against India, and they also want to preserve some of these jihadi groups. They don't want to see these people being shut down completely," said Ahmed Rashid, author of "Descent Into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia." "They've invested in them for many, many years, because these jihadi groups have been on the frontline in Kashmir in India on behalf of the Pakistan military and intelligence agencies. So there is a great reluctance to give up on these guys."

Related

India Hands Pakistan 'Proof' of Ties to Attack

WATCH: India-Pakistan Tensions

Amnesty Intl Slams Indian Anti-Terror Law

Of the Pakistani crackdown, Menon said today, "Frankly, what we have seen so far does not impress us."

After the attacks the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution declaring the Pakistani charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa a front group for Lashkar-e-Taiba. That resolution requires Pakistan to "bring proceedings against persons and entities within their jurisdiction."

Pakistan's interior chief, Rehman Malik, recently admitted that if a crackdown is seen as severe, militants associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba could threaten the government.

"The risk? I tell you what it is," Malik said. "Street power. Because the religious parties and the extremists are joining hands, we are already seeing that violence, yes, that is a risk [as well]."

Pakistan has shut down Jamaat-ud-Dawa's offices, banned it from collecting donations and taken control of its headquarters outside Lahore, according the group. Abdullah Muntazir, a spokesman for Jamaat-ud-Dawa, told ABC News that its religious school located in Muridke is "running under the administration of government of Punjab." But he criticized the government for the crackdown, saying,"The government can't run its own institutions. How will it manage our schools?"

The group, Muntazir said, plans to fight the ban in Pakistan's courts.