[/caption]The nuclear-armed South Asian rivals, Pakistan and India are again at loggerheads after Mumbai attacks. India started pointing fingers at Pakistan-based militant group Laskhar-e-Taiba even before it ended its operation against gunmen who carried out the carnage in Mumbai.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a telephonic conversation with his Paksitani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani demanded that head of the powerful Inter-Service Intelligence agency Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha should be sent to India in connection with the investigation. Gilani agreed, but later backtracked following fierce public backlash.
The United States is also harping on Indian tunes and mounting pressure on Pakistan to hand over the wanted militants including the founder of Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT) Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar.
In Pakistan controlled Kashmir the military launched a "law enforcement" operation and arrested 20 militants including the alleged mastermind of Mumbai attacks Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi from a camp of Jammat-ud-Dawa, a charity formed after LeT was banned in 2002, near Muzaffarabad city, but these details could not be independently varified.
A Pakistan military statement late Monday acknowledged the crackdown.
Here is the text of statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
"UPDATED ON 8 DEC 2008 AT 2000 HRS
A spokesman of ISPR has said that operation of Law Enforcement Agencies is underway. This is an intelligence led operation against banned militant outfits and organizations. There have been arrest and investigations are on. Further details will be available on completion of preliminary inquiries."
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="197" caption="Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani"]
[/caption]Analysts and political figures of the country have criticised the operation against LeT saying that it was being done without getting any solid evidenced from India.
As the operation continued, Gilani called the meeting of Defence Committee of the Canbinet (DCC) comprising top defence, military and security officials.
Pakistan foreign secretary Salman Bashir also held a meeting with Indian envoy to Islamabad and offered him to send a delegation to India as soon as possible to help investigations.
The recent statements by US Secretary of States Condoleezza Rice have also mounted pressure on Pakistan with she saying that there was enough information about the attacks and it was not a question of sharing the evidence.
Pakistan now seems cornered from all sides and there should be an immediate soul searching within the establishment or the permanent rulers of the country. These invisible rulers must review their polices which have really put the Pakistan on mat. As the war clouds hover in South Asia, the world community must do everything to clear them as soon as possible to avert clossal loss of human life.
Comments
Taking strong exception to the Indian Foreign Secretary’s reported remarks that the international community should put pressure on Pakistan “to implement its stated commitment to deal with terror groups”, the Foreign Office Spokesman stated that the international community is appreciative of Pakistan’s actions and commitment to fight terrorism. Terrorism is a regional and global issue. In fact, India must explain its own conduct in sponsoring and abetting terrorism and militancy in our region