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| Truth eludes the PM | | Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is welcome to peddle fiction and mollycoddle a terror sponsoring Pakistan but how can he forget that his job is to protect the country's national interest? | | Sunita Vakil | 11/19/2011 10:33:54 PM |
| Recently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described Pakistan as a victim of terrorism by saying "terrorism is a perennial cocern and it now effects Pakistan also". The reported remarks took many by surprise as it was a shocking clean chit to a terror sponsoring state which is also the crucible of Jehad. Just what prompted Dr. Singh to make that remark is unclear.
It left the nation wondering since there is no evidence at hand for him to come to such an amazing conclusion. In fact, till date the Pakistan administration has done little other than drag its feet over bringing those responsible for the deadly terror attacks to justice. The PM has chosen to ignore these hard realities. In his enthusiasm to please Pakistan, he has also conveniently glossed over the fact that the neighbouring country has still not done much to contain cross border terrorism. Camps to provide training in Jihadi still operate. Indeed, security agencies report that there are 2500 militants in PoK ready to infiltrate into J&K. And yet, Dr. Singh has chosen to speak in a different language.
Tragically, our country is headed by a person who cannot bring himself to separate his personal predilections from the affairs of the state. Mr. Manmohan Sing is welcome to pander to Pakistan and paint the perpetrator of ghastly terror on India as the victim but he should desist from doing so at the expense of our national interest.
It is equally surprising that the PM considers Yousuf Raza Gilani a "man of peace". It seems that for some strange reason Mr. Singh wants to mollify Islamabad even at the cost of India's security. Nothing else explains his generous compliment to his Pakistani counterpart that too when Pakistan has been duplicitous in its conduct on India's concerns regarding cross border terrorism. On the contrary, Mr. Gilani has done absolutely nothing to bring the masterminds behind the 26/11 carnage in Mumbai to justice cross border terrorism during his tenure has not abated. In fact, it has continued to flourish. The manner in which he has consistently stonewalled all efforts from the Indian side to address the issue of terrorism provides ample example of Mr. Gilani's belligerent attitude towards India. Therefore Mr. Singh's comment about Mr.Gilani which is both baseless and uncalled for cannot but raise more than eyebrows. But the PM does not see the obvious. Instead, he has the penchant for suddenly taking recourse to empty, some would even say laughable rhetoric.
Past events have shown that the PM Manmohan Singh's capitulation to Pakistan on the issue of terrorism is nothing new. He did it earlier at Sharm-el-Shiekh in July 2009. The controversial statement which not only sought to delink action on terror from composite dialogue process but also gave a flip to Islamabad's allegations against New Delhi that the latter was involved in fostering trouble in Balochestan was criticized by the opposition and even by many party colleagues. Now it seems that Mr. Singh has done the same in Maldives, much to Islamabad's glee and India's shock. The PM is welcome to his views on the need to gratuitously eulogise Mr. Geelani but he should desist from forcing that as a foreign policy on the nation. For justice still eludes those killed by PaK terrorists in India. If would do him well to note that real action means giving up the use of terror as policy which the sullen recalcitrants, who mouth cooperation but it practice offer nothing, are unwilling to do.
It is high time Mr. Singh learnt from his mistakes.
Ironically, Even as Dr. Singh issued his stunning certificate of good conduct to Mr. Gilani, Pakistan took the Jamaat-ud-Dawa off its terror list and rubbished the evidence provided by India linking Hafiz Sayed to the Mumbai attack. Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik's statement that non-state actor Ajmal Kasab should be hanged for his involvement in 26/11 is all very well. But it is an open secret that Kasab didn't act alone. The million dollar question is whether Pakistan is willing to bring to book Hafiz Sayed, one of the masterminds of the operation who sent Kasab to Mumbai?. The fact is that the Gilani government thumps its nose not only at India but the entire international community by disregarding the dossiers given by India to Pakistan or the Interpol red corner notice against Syed for his involvement in 26/11. It is a shame that Mr. Singh has taken a complete U-turn from India's earlier stand of not resuming dialogue with Pakistan until it clamps down on the masterminds of 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai. It is tragic that days ahead of the third anniversary of 26/11 carnage in Mumbai, Mr. Manmohan Singh has shown complete insensitivity to the feelings of the people who lost their near and dear ones by clearly bending backwards to appease the Prime Minister of Pakistan. In the light of the fact that the Congress led UPA government has failed to effectively tackle Pakistan for its role in fomenting terrorism in this country, Mr.Singh's claim that his approach to Pakistan is to "trust but verify" is so much balderdash.
But how do we explain our Prime Minister's astonishing refusal to look the truth in the face despite his senior cabinet colleagues pointing out the obvious- that Pakistan has not fulfilled its promise to bring 26/11 masterminds to justice? We have been accusing Islamabad for not walking the talk and that position is unchanged until now.
What then has really changed for Mr. Singh to laud the Pakistan PM? Has cross border terrorism stopped? Has Mr. Gilani dismantled terrorists training camps? Have the terrorists turned over a new leaf? The answer of all these questions is a big NO. While many believe that Mr. Singh's faux pas was an exercise to give him an image make-over, it is being seen as a calculated risk by the ministers in his own cabinet. India can't have unrealistic hopes since Islamabad has shown neither remorse not has it recanted its evil intentions. India would expect a visibly durable record of winding down of terrorism that goes beyond mere rhetoric. It has to send a strong message across Pakistan that no anti-India agenda will be tolerated. It is also imperative for Pakistan to take India's terror related rider seriously. |
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