ALI SUKHANVER

The Mumbai Attacks have turned the Indo-Pak relationship to such a blind alley where there is neither a ray of hope nor a gleam of optimism. We may call it a dead -lock. The question arises; who is getting the benefit of this dead-lock; Pakistan or India? Whosoever is the beneficiary of these attacks is the actual master mind behind the game. Since just after these attacks, Pakistan has been facing a lot of turmoil; all guns targeting Pakistan. The Indian officials, the Indian army, the Indian politicians and the Indian media, all started blaming Pakistan and its Intelligence agencies for this grave massacre without any rhyme and reason. In a pretended rage and fury over this incident India halted all peace talks, all negotiations, to a stand-still position. The Kashmir issue, the water conflict, the attacks on Samjhota Express and the blood-shed in the Maligaon; all chapters closed. Now Pakistan has no way to express its grievances regarding any matter because the Indians turn a deaf ear to any complaint by saying, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The Mumbai Attacks firstƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. This stubborn behaviour of India is widening the already increasing gulf between the two countries.

The government of Pakistan has been categorically rejecting any blame of its involvement in these horrible attacks since the very beginning. Up till now the Indian government has not succeeded in providing any proof regarding PakistanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s involvement in these blasts. But the blame game is still on. The basis of this blame game is the only allegation on Pakistan that the surviving culprit Ajmal Qassab is a Pakistani according to the documents provided. It is something very strange that on the basis of nationality of a criminal, the whole of country is being held responsible for his act of terrorism. Do all the terrorists really represent their governments? What about the Indian citizens involved in different crimes in America, England and other countries? And what about the agents of Raw who are always busy in Swat and the other tribal areas of Pakistan? Do they really represent the government of India?

Our Indian friends are knowingly ignoring a bitter reality that all terrorists belong to one nation, one religion, one land and that is Terrorism. Wherever they are, whatever they are, they have one common identity. They donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t belong to countries; they belong to a specific culture. Their religion is blood-shed, their creed is suppression. However those who support and shelter them are also a part of their dirty game. As far as Pakistan is concerned, it has always been the worst victim of terrorism since its birth. India has never faced any form of terrorism such as Pakistan has been facing for so many decades. How a country which is itself facing the worst consequences of terrorism can plan a terrorist activity in another country. The Mumbai attacks are certainly one of the worst examples of terrorism. No segment of human society can desire to see again those horrible pictures anywhere as that of the streets of Mumbai bucketing human blood. Those who were deprived of their lives were not only the Hindus; there were so many others belonging to different religions. And even if there were only the Hindus, no one could be happy, particularly among the Muslims, because Hindus are also human beings and Islam strictly emphasizes the value of human life.

Unfortunately, the Indian hi-ups have tried to exploit this most cruel and most brutal act of terrorism against the people of Pakistan. Just after the incident a propaganda trial was deliberately started against the Pakistan army and the intelligence agencies of Pakistan particularly the ISI. Some analysts had been found saying that this incident seems a well designed plan to frame and defame Pakistan. Even before the investigations started some of the Indian authorities started blaming Pakistan. Now the judicial enquiry of the incident is in process but no body is paying attention to some of the very significant details related to the event. The investigating authorities are exerting all their energy in proving that the incident was simply a terrorist activity planned by the Intelligence agencies of Pakistan. A very important episode of the incident ; the killing of Hemant Karare, the Indian Chief of the Anti-Terrorist Squad who had very courageously exposed the involvement of the Indian Army and the RAW officials in most of the terrorist activities in India. According to the media reports the Indian army was continuously putting a pressure on Karare to revise his findings and omit the names of the army officials but he flatly refused to come under any pressure. The Mumbai blasts could be an attempt to reprimand Karare for his obstinacy. Hemant KarareƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s report on the involvement of Indian army officers In Maligaon blasts had exposed the real colossal face of the Indian army and shattered the image of the Indian Armed Forced in the eyes of the minorities. But during the court proceedings nothing is being brought to light with reference to Karare.

Another neglected fact is the involvement of the local people in Mumbai attacks. Without the support of the local people, how it can be possible for a group of outsiders to import a huge volume of ammunition in a boat and further spread it in a very thickly populated city like Mumbai. It is the same situation as that in Swat. According to the reports, the agents of Raw are continuously supporting the miscreants who belong to Pakistan but are at present playing in the hands of their foreign masters. During the operation clean up in Swat and the adjoining areas, the security forces are trying their best to crush not only the foreign elements but also the local ones. By putting the whole responsibility on the non-state actors it would be next to impossible to find out the actual root cause of the matter. The Indian media is repeatedly emphasizing the statement of Ajmal Qassab in which he has admitted his involvement in the Mumbai attacks. According to the latest media reports, he is at present in a state of frenzy and depression and under the police pressure he is uttering sentences ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Hang me—Hang me—I canƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t bear this all any moreƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. What would be the out come of this type of judicial enquiry when the accused is continuously under torture?

The Indian authorities must not exploit this matter as a tool against Pakistan.Ajmal Qassab could be a Pakistani according to the documents but it does not mean that he represents Pakistan. The Indian authorities must take into consideration the event of burning of Samjhota Express in which a group of Indian army officers was involved under the guidance of the Raw. The government of Pakistan knew very well that in Samjhota Express incident, there was no involvement of the Indian government. It was an action taken by Raw in its own capacity. Raw is running a government within the government, a state within the state. That is why the government of Pakistan never takes the activities of raw seriously, because it knows that the Raw has gone beyond the control of the democratic political government of India. Pakistan is surely a good neighbor; it understands the problems of its neighbours very well; but this understanding does not mean that Pakistan would always keep silently watching if a neighbor tries to surpass its limits.