Afghan Press Author: Rooh-ul-Amin

Mehmood Qurishi, Pakistan’s foreign minister was there to India to patch the already tattered rope of ties between the two rival states. Amid his four-day official visit to New Delhi, some alleged terrorists from the banned Lashkar-e-Tayyeba unleashed a wave of terror in Mumbai on 26th of November by attacking Taj and Obroi hotels and a Jewish community centre. The attacks resulted at the loss of nearly 200 people and left more than 300 injured. The Mumbai holocaust received an extraordinary coverage in American press and electronic media for among the 14 foreign nationals six were American citizens. Another factor that added to the importance of the issue was the attack on Jewish community. It is not the first instance that Pak-India peace process suffered a setback for there have been always a sporadic series of vicissitudes. And there have been many incidents, which have embittered the relations of the two neighbouring countries. For instance the attack on Indian parliament in 2001, the incidents in Jaipur, Ahmad Abad, Kerala, the attack on Indian embassy in Kabul, Malegaon bomb blasts and so on. Like Samjhota Express incident it was carried out by its own tow ex-officials of Indian army. India, in first phase of the incident alleged Student’s Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and LeT in Pakistan but later it worked on into tracing out the hands behind it honestly. And India succeed in its invisatigation and Dayanand Pandey who was behind the terror plot was given at the custody of Mumbai Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) for remand till December, 1. The MCOCA Court admitted the plea of ATS for the custody of Pandey, after they produced some evidences collected from his laptop.

As India had never been hesitant to accuse Pakistan always responsible for all the violent incidents in India, partially true and partially contentious and this time too it turned the mouth of its furious media towards its western neighbourig country.

During Musharraf regime Samjhota Express terror incident took place in February 2008, which was designed by Hindus bigoted outfit with the connivance of Indian state agency Research Analysis Wing (RAW). It was their Indian Lt. Col Prasad Purohit, who had provided the Hindu extremists with explosive materials. after him comes the name of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur who was his accomplice in this whole game which resulted at the loss of 68 people who were present in the ill-fated bogeis.

And it was indeed their own official team that unearthed his links with the Hindus extremists. Pakistan did not allege India for the massacre of Pakistanis in the incident and involvement of Indian military official but proffered for peace process instead.

But with the explosion of very first grenade and firing of the gun in Mumbai hotels the entire political class and Indian media was hell-bent on blaming Pakistan.

Like past stories it led to the US interruption in the matter and prodded Islamabad to cooperate with New Delhi in probing the case of Mumbai carnage. Right after the attacks Islamabad announced that it will send Director General of ISI, Ahmad Shuja Pasha to India.

For counter arguments the nerve of media in Pakistan also came in movement, which ignited public fury, and a rumour emanated from both the sides the two rivals nuclear states have now reached the brink of war. The war phobia invoked sense of unity among the masses and political parties. It also affected Northern Waziristan, which is a no go area for Pakistan army, also threatened India with dire consequences in case of attacking Pakistan. Supreme commander of Lashkar-e-Islam, Mangal Bagh and the spokesman for Amar-bel-Maroof Munsif Afridi also showed their spirit against India. Soon after the incident of November 26, Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rushed to Pakistan and reeled Islamabad with undeniable proof of the involvement of officials of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Pakistani militant groups in Mumbai incident. They demanded of the government to arrest Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the head of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, which is allegedly involved in November attacks on Mumbai. After the 9/11 attacks, Musharraf the then president of Pakistan had to ban this Jihadi outfit because of mounting pressure from the US. This outfit resurged with another nomenclature “Jamat-e-Dawa”. However it abandoned its Kashmir liberation policy and it went unhindered until the earthquake of 8th October 2008 in Kashmir and northern areas of Pakistan.

During the relief campaign it went unmatched in humanitarian efforts and relief campaign and the US noticed its flying fame and tried to pressurise Pakistan for its abolishment.

Asia Times Online unearthed that how high-level meetings on November 19 between the US intelligence and the ISI chalked out different plans to cripple the support systems of the Taliban and al-Qaida in Pakistan. During the course of planning the names of retired Lieutenant General Hameed Gul who had headed ISI and a retired Squadron Leader Khalid Khawaja came up for discussion as abettors for the support of Taliban. The government gave way to the US pressure and decided to bring ISI, which is the ear and eye of Pakistan army, under the thatch of interior ministry. Soon the decision was rolled back and the Prime Minster Yousuf Raza Gillani announced the abolition of the political wing of ISI. In and out of the country the decision of the government was acclaimed but the Mumbai carnage on 26th November brought once again pressure on Islamabad.

This time, four names of ISI officials were given to the United Nations Security Council to put them on a list of international terrorists with no exemption of Gul. Khawaja, a middle-profiled former ISI official, has confirmed the news that his and Gul’s names had been put on the Pakistan’s Exit Control List–ECL. After the departure of Mullen and Rice, Republican presidential runner John McCain arrived at Pakistan. Over his arrival the lips of government officials are too tight to leak any information regarding his visit. But it shows he is also to pressurise Islamabad to cooperate New Delhi to investigate into the case. There have been hundred of terror incidents in Pakistan but how world community reacted to the Mumbai incident is not something unprecedented and unexpected. When John McCain was here in Pakistan, a car laden with explosive material exploded in the thickly populated area of Peshawar “Koucha Risaldar–Risaldar Lane” which left 35 dead and 72 other injured. Terrorism and violence cannot be justified and it will go always condemnable irrespective of creed, colour and nationality. But he did not utter a single word of condemnation and the public inferred his silence over the incident with the American biasness. He visited India to condemn the terrorists attack in Mumbai hotels while here in Pakistan he remained mute over the Peshawar blast.

Though he is the same Republican McCain who had chided president-elect Barack Obama during presidential election campaign for calling Pakistan as a battleground for the US.

(To be continued)

The writer is a FATA-based freelance journalist.