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The Climbdown
Priyaleen K
Renuka
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It is interesting to see that while Punjabis across both sides
of the border lead a major peace lobby and the Sikhs are in the
forefront of wishing a permanent peace, the Akali Dal, which too
talks of opening Wagah trade route, and enabling more Sikh
pilgrims to visit gurughars in Pakistan, has never tried to
exercise any sway on the BJP’s policy towards Pakistan. |
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 The
ultra-nationalist and holier than thou pedestal from which New Delhi
has been trying to act like a big brother in the South Asian region
has received a major jolt. Its efforts at portraying Pakistan
as the fountainhead of all terror while trying to sweep under the
carpet all allegations of the dubious role it has been playing in
Balochistan have come to a nought.
Hours before
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was to touch Indian soil, New
Delhi made an astonishing somersault and in a big climbdown, dropped
its insistence on refusing to hold talks with Pakistan till those
behind the Mumbai terror attacks were punished.
A joint
India-Pak statement on Thursday in Sharm-el Sheikh, Egypt,
issued after a top-level meeting since the Mumbai terror attacks
said: “Both Prime Ministers recognised that dialogue is the only way
forward. Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite
dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.”
Clearly, the
Hindu nationalist anti-Muslim BJP, the alliance partner of the Punjab’s
ruling Akali Dal, was to cry hoarse. While there was a clear thaw in
relations visible after India’s Sikh
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a great peace leap, the two sides
agreed to “create an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence”.
Significantly, there was no mention of Kashmir in the statement
which talked of New Delhi’s readiness to “discuss all issues with Pakistan,
including all outstanding issues.”
Under the
composite dialogue process, Kashmir is one of the issues.
It is
interesting to see that while Punjabis across both sides of the
border lead a major peace lobby and the Sikhs are in the forefront
of wishing a permanent peace, the Akali Dal, which too talks of
opening Wagah trade route, and enabling more Sikh pilgrims to visit
gurughars in Pakistan, has never tried to exercise any sway on the
BJP’s policy towards Pakistan. The saffron party agenda has been
limited to demonizing Islamabad and it has always opposed delinking
of the composite dialogue with terrorism.
Such hawking
stances have so far resulted in New Delhi
sticking to a rather inflexible position that a dialogue cannot be
held with Pakistan till there was concrete action against terrorism
emanating from that country.
Pakistan has of
course been maintaining that it too is a victim of terror and is in
the forefront of a war on terror. president Asif Ali Zardari has
gone in fact farther than all predecessors by saying that Islamabad
indeed has been backing and producing militants and that policy has
come back to haunt Pakistan.
The
India-Pakistan dialogue has been off track since long now but with
the latest developments, the foreign secretaries of the two
countries are expected to meet more often.
Interestingly,
the joint statement contained a reference to “threats” in
Balochistan, where Pakistan has been alleging an Indian hand in
terrorist incidents. Now, the two countries’ foreign ministers are
expected to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session
in New York in September.
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Mumbai terror culprit
confesses in court
WSN Network
MUMBAI: First
he shocked the world with his confession. On Tuesday, Mohammad
Ajmal Amir ‘Kasab’ signed a copy of his confession statement.
The court asked
him how he had learnt about
Pakistan’s
acceptance of his nationality, particularly when he had no
access to either newspapers, television or the Internet. The
lone surviving gunman replied that he had received the news from
a guard on duty outside his cell.
He added a
detail to his testimony. He told the court that when he and Abu
Ismail were given Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) as a
target, they were told to take hostages and move them to a
higher level.
“We were told
to open fire and take hostages to an upper floor and to fight
with those who were coming to their rescue, including the
police,” Ajmal said.
In view of the
communally sensitive nature of Ajmal’s statements, the judge
M.L. Tahaliyani passed an order banning the publication and
broadcast of Ajmal’s statement recorded on Tuesday by any media
or person, except the part which pertains to CST. Mr. Tahaliyani
remarked that the trial was at “a delicate stage.”
Mr. Tahaliyani
remarked that it was not in all cases that a lengthy plea, such
as this one, was recorded. However, “since there are many
charges against ‘Kasab’ it was done in this case.” |
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22
July 2009
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