Clinton meets Mumbai victims

By Arshad Mohammed

MUMBAI (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met survivors of the Mumbai attacks, talked climate change with Indian industrialists and was serenaded by village women as she visited India's financial capital on Saturday.

On a trip aimed at deepening U.S.-Indian ties, Clinton's first act was to attend a commemoration of the victims of the November 26-29 militant attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people.

In a sign of solidarity, she stayed at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, one of two luxury landmarks, along with the Trident/Oberoi, which were the primary targets of the Islamist gunmen who besieged India's financial and entertainment hub.

"Yesterday's bombings in Jakarta, Indonesia, provide a painful reminder that the threat of such violent extremism is still very much here," she said as she met survivors, including a hotel manager who lost his wife and two children.

"It is global, it is ruthless, it is nihilistic and it must be stopped."

India blames Pakistani militants for the violence and has paused five-year-old peace talks with its nuclear-armed rival until it is satisfied with Pakistan's action against militants and commitment not to let its soil be used to launch attacks.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani agreed on Thursday to fight terrorism jointly, but Singh insisted Pakistan must punish those responsible for the Mumbai attacks if it wants formal talks.

While saying it was up to the two sides how to proceed in their talks, Clinton said Pakistan had begun to show much greater determination "to take on the terrorists," apparently referring to its military campaign against Taliban insurgents.