Interior Adviser, Mr. Rehman Malik has accepted the use of Pakistan’s soil in the planning of the Mumbai terror attacks. He has also disclosed that a case was registered on Thursday against eight suspects. Significantly, he has posed questions on behalf of the Government of Pakistan to India which would allow further investigation into the incident as well as help uncover other actors who may have facilitated the attacks.
It is important to note that some of the questions that were drafted are regarding details of other incidents of terrorism that have occurred in the past in the region. The role of Indian officials in the Samjhota Express blasts in which Indian Muslims were targeted as well as the Malay village blasts are amongst the issues that Islamabad has raised in these questions. Quite evidently, this implies that these and other acts of terror and killing of civilians in the past were interlinked and may have provided the impetus for the planning and execution of the Mumbai attacks.
The ball is in India’s court now and it must reciprocate in the same manner as Islamabad has by coming out openly and in a transparent manner and not irrationally as it has in the past. It must not try to evade the questions, which seems probable, given that it has in the past tried to dissociate other acts of terrorism in its soil from the Mumbai attacks and blamed Pakistan solely by branding it as a ‘safe haven for terrorists’.
It is noteworthy that the disclosure comes following Islamabad’s continued denial into the whole affair in the past which had endangered its credibility as well as international prestige and repute and it looked like it stood alone over the issue at one point. The disclosure however is a positive omen for the region as well as Pakistan itself since it shows its willingness and resolve to bring the perpetrators of such crimes against humanity to justice. It is also foreseeable now that the tensions in the region would lower following the inclination of the government to pursue the matter earnestly.
The visit of the FBI team from the United States of America following the Mumbai attacks and Pakistan’s denial emphasized the importance attached to the issue by the United States following the raised tensions amongst the nuclear armed countries. Instead of sharing the dossier or evidence with Pakistan, India had succeeded in isolating Pakistan internationally and had presented its version of the evidence to the United States who then led the pressure on the Islamabad government after being satisfied that the attacks did emanate in some manner from Pakistan. The findings of FBI, which included details of tracking through GPS of the phones used by the culprits were irrefutable evidence and Pakistan had to go through a review of its active denial policy and first the nationality of Ajmal Kasab was recognized as a Pakistani and now the planning has been also partially been accepted as having been conducted from this country. It is regrettable that previously, statements from the highest officials of this country, the Prime Minister being no exception had one way or the other suggested otherwise. It was said by Mr. Gillani earlier that India had merely provided information and not evidence and similarly it was stated that the planning of the attacks bore the footprints of the foreign country.
Perhaps the decision makers of this country were confident that like they have so often done so in the past in national politics, they can play the game of cat and mouse and hide and seek vis-à-vis India. International relations and international diplomacy is a totally different arena from national politics and the conduct of state actors through non-professional tactics and power play can significantly alter the role of that nation for many years to come. It is hard to see how our decision-makers overlooked the fact that the terrorists of 9/11 belonged to countries which were not blamed for the terrorist activities themselves. Similarly, the fact that they received training in Western piloting schools did not indict the Western countries themselves. We could have seized the opportunity in a different manner and our credibility level would have been that of a cooperating state and not one where only international isolation and threat of war coerces us into submission. Unfortunately, many pundits are writing us off like this now.
One hopes however that following Pakistan’s disclosure some damage control has been done and we must endeavor now to offset some of the pressure that was put on us through our own misdoings and restore our credibility. The Western media, controlled in large part by the Zionist influence as well as the Indian media and their respective leaderships had even prior to this incident painted a dangerous, yet far from reality, picture of Pakistan as a country on the edge of falling into the hands of extremists who would be the next breed of terrorists possessing ready-to-use nuclear weapons. We must not, through our reckless statements, which have to be subsequently ‘clarified’ play into their hands and make their task easier.
It is important to note that some of the questions that were drafted are regarding details of other incidents of terrorism that have occurred in the past in the region. The role of Indian officials in the Samjhota Express blasts in which Indian Muslims were targeted as well as the Malay village blasts are amongst the issues that Islamabad has raised in these questions. Quite evidently, this implies that these and other acts of terror and killing of civilians in the past were interlinked and may have provided the impetus for the planning and execution of the Mumbai attacks.
The ball is in India’s court now and it must reciprocate in the same manner as Islamabad has by coming out openly and in a transparent manner and not irrationally as it has in the past. It must not try to evade the questions, which seems probable, given that it has in the past tried to dissociate other acts of terrorism in its soil from the Mumbai attacks and blamed Pakistan solely by branding it as a ‘safe haven for terrorists’.
It is noteworthy that the disclosure comes following Islamabad’s continued denial into the whole affair in the past which had endangered its credibility as well as international prestige and repute and it looked like it stood alone over the issue at one point. The disclosure however is a positive omen for the region as well as Pakistan itself since it shows its willingness and resolve to bring the perpetrators of such crimes against humanity to justice. It is also foreseeable now that the tensions in the region would lower following the inclination of the government to pursue the matter earnestly.
The visit of the FBI team from the United States of America following the Mumbai attacks and Pakistan’s denial emphasized the importance attached to the issue by the United States following the raised tensions amongst the nuclear armed countries. Instead of sharing the dossier or evidence with Pakistan, India had succeeded in isolating Pakistan internationally and had presented its version of the evidence to the United States who then led the pressure on the Islamabad government after being satisfied that the attacks did emanate in some manner from Pakistan. The findings of FBI, which included details of tracking through GPS of the phones used by the culprits were irrefutable evidence and Pakistan had to go through a review of its active denial policy and first the nationality of Ajmal Kasab was recognized as a Pakistani and now the planning has been also partially been accepted as having been conducted from this country. It is regrettable that previously, statements from the highest officials of this country, the Prime Minister being no exception had one way or the other suggested otherwise. It was said by Mr. Gillani earlier that India had merely provided information and not evidence and similarly it was stated that the planning of the attacks bore the footprints of the foreign country.
Perhaps the decision makers of this country were confident that like they have so often done so in the past in national politics, they can play the game of cat and mouse and hide and seek vis-à-vis India. International relations and international diplomacy is a totally different arena from national politics and the conduct of state actors through non-professional tactics and power play can significantly alter the role of that nation for many years to come. It is hard to see how our decision-makers overlooked the fact that the terrorists of 9/11 belonged to countries which were not blamed for the terrorist activities themselves. Similarly, the fact that they received training in Western piloting schools did not indict the Western countries themselves. We could have seized the opportunity in a different manner and our credibility level would have been that of a cooperating state and not one where only international isolation and threat of war coerces us into submission. Unfortunately, many pundits are writing us off like this now.
One hopes however that following Pakistan’s disclosure some damage control has been done and we must endeavor now to offset some of the pressure that was put on us through our own misdoings and restore our credibility. The Western media, controlled in large part by the Zionist influence as well as the Indian media and their respective leaderships had even prior to this incident painted a dangerous, yet far from reality, picture of Pakistan as a country on the edge of falling into the hands of extremists who would be the next breed of terrorists possessing ready-to-use nuclear weapons. We must not, through our reckless statements, which have to be subsequently ‘clarified’ play into their hands and make their task easier.
No comments:
Post a Comment