Friday, November 28, 2008

India pressures Pakistan for terrorist intel

This from the Press Trust of India - - -

New Delhi/Islamabad, Nov 28 (PTI) Angered by the Mumbai terror strikes, India today forced Pakistan to send its ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence] chief here to provide evidence about the role of Pakistan- based "elements" in the "outrageous" attacks as it made clear that the bilateral ties would be hurt if these don't stop.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani that investigators had found involvement of Pakistan-based elements in the attacks in the commercial capital.He told Gilani that Pakistan should send its ISI chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha to New Delhi "to cooperate in the investigations of the Mumbai attack and for sharing certain information".

Pakistan agreed to Singh's proposal and said Pasha would travel to New Delhi soon, for which modalities would be worked out by the two sides.During the telephonic conversation with Singh, Zardari assured him that Islamabad "will cooperate with India in exposing and apprehending the culprits and masterminds behind" the attacks in Mumbai.

The President told Singh "non-state actors wanted to force upon the governments their own agenda but they must not be allowed to succeed. We should not fall into the trap of the militants."

[Indian] External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee called up his counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who is in New Delhi, and bluntly told him that if "outrages" like Mumbai attack don't stop, it would be "impossible" to ensure a "leap" in the bilateral relations that is desired.
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Comments:

What to make of Pakistan’s willingness to send to India its top intel chief, Lt. Gen. Shuria Pasha, rather than a high ranking subordinate?

For Pakistan, there’s a high degree of humiliation involved when the PM of a neighbor country with whom its often warred and now has a most uneasy “peace” issues what amounts to a public summons for it chief intel officer to come to New Delhi in connection with terrorists attacks India’s left no doubt it believes were planned and supported by people in Pakistan.

PM’s Singh’s summons has something of the feel of the school boy being called to the Principal’s office.

I take Pakistan’s agreement to send it top intel chief to New Delhi as a sign India has already let Pakistan know in a way Pakistan can verify, that India has irrefutable intel which incriminates in the Mumbai attacks members of Pakistan’s civil government, military and ISI.

India takes it as a given some authorities in Pakistan support terrorists bent on attacking India. Justice for those people may have to wait a while.

What the Indians wants to know right now from the Paha is who in India sheltered and abetted the terrorists and how the terrorists slipped into India.

The Indian’s will no doubt need to do some arm-twisting to get that information.

What can they hold over the Pakistanis?

India is a nuclear armed nation, but it surely won’t go that route or even threaten it.

Most likely the card India will play involves the U. S. as an intelligence ally and a force which, along with India, can do a lot to destabilize an already shaky Pakistani government.

In the present situation, Pakistan can’t look to China for much help.

The Chinese are already angry at the Pakistani government for not doing enough to reign in Muslim terrorists operating in Western China with their support bases in Pakistan.

What do you folks think?

Here's Wiki's entry on Pakistan's ISI.

Update @ 11/30/08 @ 9 AM ET: Pakistan now won't send intel chief to India

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

What do I think? I think someone ought to pave Pakistan.
Tarheel Hawkeye