New Delhi - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said governments in South Asia had a "moral duty" to take firm action against terrorism in the wake of November 26 attacks in Mumbai.

"In our region there is today growing awareness that terrorism and extremism pose a threat to democracy and development," Singh told an international conference in New Delhi.

"Governments and authorities in our region and elsewhere have therefore a moral duty to act firmly and quickly," he said.

Although Singh did not mention Pakistan, the reference seemed apparent as Indian security agencies have blamed Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for the Mumbai attacks that left 173 dead, including nine terrorists.

Speaking in the Indian Parliament on Thursday, Singh said the international community had to be galvanized into "dealing sternly and effectively with the epicentre of terrorism, which is located in Pakistan."

In his speech Saturday, Singh urged "peace-loving and democratic forces" around the world to join the fight against extremism and intolerance.

He said terrorist attacks on cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Jaipur had hurt India's democracy.

"When democracy is challenged in India it is a challenge to the human spirit the world over," Singh said. "The time has come for all of us to unite and speak as one in defence of our democratic inheritance."

Earlier on Friday, Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureishi complained that India was not cooperating in joint investigations and asked for credible information and evidence relating to the Mumbai attacks.

Pakistan raided Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa, believed to be a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, and arrested its chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed in the eastern city of Lahore.

But India was sceptical about Pakistan acting decisively against militants operating from its soil.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said such elements had been "let off" in the past after some initial action, the PTI news agency reported.

"Therefore we shall have to see whether these (actions by Pakistan) are taken to their logical conclusion," Mukherjee said, challenging Islamabad to dismantle all terrorist infrastructure.

"We can make available whatever evidence we have. In this case, we are also investigating, we have not come to any conclusion. Therefore at this juncture, perhaps, it would be premature to share the evidence," Mukherjee told the PTI. (dpa)