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| U -Turn | | Prime Minister withdraws clean chit to Pakistan | |
By Sushil Vakil
It is rightly said by a poet: Not drowned by the sea, But washed away by a drop! These poetic words apply to our Hon'ble Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh. The fact remains that he has never shown any kind of nervousness previously but was carried away by the gullible talks of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at Sharm-el-Sheikh last month. Firstly, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh agreed to de-link the issue of terror from the resumption of the composite dialogue process. Secondly, he went more than an extra mile to portray India as an aggressor in Balochistan. But after stirring the hornets nest the Prime Minister has now withdrawn the clean chit he had given to Pakistan by asserting that Pakistan based terrorists are planning to attack India anywhere and anytime.
Expectedly, people at home were at a loss to understand what had changed in the last seven months for the PM to agree to sign the agreement when the status quo on the 26/11 probe has not changed. No doubt, Manmohan Singh tried to convince the agitated countrymen that he had conveyed to Gilani the strong sentiments of the people of India on the issue of terror, especially on the Mumbai attacks. But it had no takers. Evidently, after drawing all round flak on Sharm-el-Sheikh agreement, PM has suddenly woken up to the threat from across the border. There is no doubt that Mr Singh has come under severe criticism from the opposition for delinking composite dialogue and action against terrorism.
It is fascinating that on the one side Prime Minister is saying India and Pakistan had agreed to fight terrorism jointly and share real time, credible and actionable information on any future terrorist threats but on the other side he is now anticipating attacks from the same country. Frankly, after Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting it was expected that the unique agreement would lead the region towards an era of peace, tranquility and defeat the forces having vested interest in violence. But it was not so.
It is unfortunate that Pakistan, despite giving assurances, chose to continue extending moral support to Jihadis instead of taking harsh action against them. The release of masterminds behind the Mumbai terror attacks is self explanatory. Apart from that there have been rampant cases of terror attacks in the valley, regular skirmishes on borders and incidents of infiltration on a massive scale.
Interestingly, after releasing the grave blunder committed at Sharm-el-Sheikh the Prime Minister has now pressed the panic button by cautioning the Chief Ministers and senior officers against the unexpected attacks from Pakistan based militants. On the basis of intelligence inputs Prime Minister asserted that terror groups were planning attacks in India. He further reiterated that his government has credible information of cross border attacks and the operation of the terrorists covers not just Jammu and Kashmir but other parts of the countryas well. Contrary to Mr Singh's earlier statement that a stable and prosperous Pakistan was in the interest of India ,the latest U-turn has caused ripples in various political circles.
Besides the PM, Defence Minister A. K. Antony has also confirmed that dozens of terror camps are "functioning actively" in Pakistan and that India would continue to face threats as long as these camps remaine active. Home Minister Chidambaram too added that his ministry has reliable information that Pakistan based terrorist outfits can strike anywhere, anytime in India. It has become the hall mark of our leaders to claim knowledge of every persistent threat but no clue as to how to prevent it. Moreover, it shows the sentimentalities in which our leaders squeal.
Interestingly, India is always extending a hand of friendship to Pakistan but the country is slapping us again and again. All this makes it clear that our leaders are oblivious to the fact that Pakistan is not a country easy to deal with. Right-minded Indians still desire peace and stability on the subcontinent — but with dignity. Instead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's one-sided commitment to "go more than half the way" to make peace with Pakistan, India's correct position should be that it is ever ready to walk more than half the distance on cooperation or confrontation, depending on whether Pakistan wants peace or war.
It is high time that instead of harping on friendly relations with Islamabad centre must ensure tight security arrangements and intelligence gathering as the country couldn't afford to be lax in keeping vigil on borders and on the sea front. There is no denying the fact that Islamabad has done little to destroy the terrorists infrastructure and training facilities despite the pledges given by its leaders on more than one occasion. The situation demands fool proof security arrangements and action against terror and not the reconciliatory gestures. It is said that people who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it.
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