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| Indians in Afghanistan target of Taliban, LeT, Pakistan | | | RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Mar 6: It was unexpected, but it has happened. The US Representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, has taken a complete U-turn and made common cause with New Delhi, which was of the firm view that the last week's terrorist attack in Kabul was directed against India and the Indians engaged in the ravaged Afghanistan in the reconstruction activities.
Richard had earlier pooh-poohed the New Delhi's emphatic view and surprised the Indians by saying that the Indians were not on the hit list of the Pakistan-sported dread Taliban or Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). At least six innocent Indians, including one engineer belonging to Jammu, were murdered in cold blood by the Taliban/LeT to produce a moral effect and made the nearly 4000 Indians there in Afghanistan to return to India.
The nature of his U-turn could be determined from the statement he issued the day before yesterday to conciliate the outraged Indian opinion. He said: "I regret any misunderstanding caused by my comments on the recent attacks in Kabul, which claimed the lives of six Indians and at least ten citizens of other countries" and that "Indian citizens have and continue to be targeted by terrorists, including inside Afghanistan".
So much so, he hailed the Indians' role in the development of Afghanistan and went to the extent of saying that the "Afghan people and the international community deeply appreciate the 'very substantial' humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan". The American Embassy in New Delhi released this statement to mollify the Indians.
His earlier statement was, according to the US media, to the effect that he didn't "accept the fact that this was an attack on an Indian facility like the (Indian) Embassy. Let's not jump to conclusions". And, he had made this ridiculous statement ignoring some very strong "indications about Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) being involved in the attack." His argument was that he "understands why everyone in Pakistan and everyone in India always focuses on the other. But please, let's not draw conclusion for which there's no proof".
It is important to note that the Indian Foreign Office had official lodged a very strong protest against the Holbrooke's highly outrageous and unwarranted remarks. It argument was that "these (remarks of Holbrooke) were not only inaccurate but they were also most unhelpful".
The U-turn taken by Richard Holbrooke could be legitimately interpreted as a great victory of the otherwise ambivalent and confused Indian Foreign Office and a setback for Pakistan, which is in hand-in-glove with the Taliban and the LeT. In fact, these are part and parcel of the Pakistani establishment and these are being used by Islamabad to harm and terrorize India so that New Delhi reviews its stand on Afghanistan and Pakistan becomes the most important factor in Kabul.
It is an established fact that Islamabad is against the Indian presence in Afghanistan. It's objective is very clear and methodology terror. It wants to destabilize the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, and establish its stranglehold over Afghanistan in the manner it wants to destabilize India and annex Jammu and Kashmir. It has its evil eyes fixed on the state waters and it also wants to control the natural resources in Afghanistan. In fact, its ultimate objective is to become the leader of the Muslim world by all means.
New Delhi would commit a blunder if it still pins its faith in the canny, unscrupulous and ambitious Pakistani leadership. Given the fact that Islamabad wants to annex Jammu and Kashmir by hook or crook and by pursuing an aggressive foreign policy, it would be only appropriate if New Delhi calls the Pakistani bluff and strengthen its borders. The sooner it does so the better. Even otherwise, such an approach towards Pakistan has become absolutely necessary in view of the threat administered openly by Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed only last Sunday that he would launch jihad against India.
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