It is time for India now to call a spade a spade, and India seems to be doing the same bit by bit. Ramping up diplomatic pressure over Pakistan, New Delhi asked Islamabad to hand over India’s most wanted 20 terrorists, including Dawood Ibrahim and Masood Azhar in relation to the Mumbai terror attack.
The Ministry of External Affairs summoned the Pakistani High Commissioner Shahid Malik in New Delhi on Monday to serve a strong diplomatic protest in view of clinching evidence accusing Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)’s involvement in the dastardly terror attack in Mumbai.
"We expect Pakistan to crack down on terror groups and individuals. If Pakistan doesn't deliver our response will be correct and considered," Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said.
As per media reports, India shared initial findings of the investigation with Pakistani authorities and threatened peace talks and confidence building measures with Pakistan would suffer if India’s demands were not met. It clearly said militants, who rampaged in Mumbai for three consecutive days, were trained in Pakistan.
The evidences so far gathered suggest that Dawood Ibrahim helped the terror outfit, LeT in launching terror attack on November 26.
Another terrorist Azhar Masood, the founder of terror organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), is accused for conducting many terror operations here, including attack on Parliament in 2000 that had brought the two country on the verge of war. He was freed from jail by the Indian government in exchange for hijacked Indian Airlines passengers in 1999.
Pakistan, on the other hand, has assured India to provide evidences first and it will act accordingly.
President Asif Ali Zardari has assured to act against terror groups if India gives him proof of their involvement in the Mumbai attack.
"Pakistan condemned this attack and has extended its cooperation. This is a common enemy and both the countries are victim. In these difficult times both the countries need to stand together," Qureshi said but declined to admit that Dawood was in Pakistan.
It is to be noted here that Pakistan, who has denied his government’s involvement in Mumbai incident, had agreed on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s request to send Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief to India to cooperate in investigations into the Mumbai terror strikes, but later backtracked. It raises doubt on Pakistan’s “saying and doing.”
This time, however, seems different, as global diplomatic pressure is likely to mount on Pakistan to cooperate India sincerely against terror attacks. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hinted US pressure piling on Islamabad when she, ahead of her arrival in Delhi, asked Pakistan to assist India and be transparent in its investigations.
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