Friday, January 02, 2009

Reluctant negotiator

Days after the stunning cycle of events, it became clear that India’s response to the deadliest ever strike on its soil by suspected Pakistan-backed terrorists in Mumbai, has been caught in a time warp. Apart from summoning the Pakistani High Commissioner, Shahid Malik, and putting up an old list of its most wanted, including the likes of Dawood Ibrahim and Azhar Mahmood, India’s reaction has been weak kneed. A mild-mannered Manmohan Singh has refrained from directly naming Pakistan but investigators probing the multi-layered case say they have come up with concrete connections with the neighbouring country, including phone numbers, addresses, telephonic intercepts, products with labels, all pointing to a 'Made in Pakistan' tag.

The prevailing view in New Delhi is that the attack could not have emanated on President Asif Zardari's orders but the ISI and the Army which are out of his control.

Most important for India is the account of captured terrorist Mohammed Amir Qasab, who after indulging in an orgy of killing, was arrested on the night of November 26. The demarche served to the Pakistani envoy was not different from what Pakistani diplomats in Delhi are used to receiving: the charge of their country’s complicity in the numerous bomb blasts, which have claimed thousands of lives in India, demand that top terrorists and criminals stationed on Pakistani soil be returned, and terror camps like that of the Lashkar-e-Taiyaba (LeT) be closed forthwith....Continue

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