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Mumbai blasts a conspiracy to derail Pakistan-India peace talks

Rahil Yasin - 7/19/2011

Lahore: As terror once again struck Mumbai on July 13, killing 21 people and injuring more than 140 others, Indian leaders mostly avoided pointing a finger at Pakistan, for the first time in the history of both the nations.

Loss of lives and property is condemnable in the strongest words but this new trend will go a long way in reducing trust deficit between both the countries having a hostile record. Just before a fortnight from Pakistan and India foreign minister-level talks in New Dehli, the well-coordinated attacks might be a planned conspiracy to derail the resumption of peace process but this softening tone and tenor of the politicians might have buried the dreams of Indian fanatics.

Besides, the timing of the serial blasts raised suspicion over whether these blasts were engineered by right-wing extremists to disrupt the rapprochement gesture. In the meantime, Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna’s ‘mature’ statement that the talks will take place as scheduled foiled this conspiracy of ‘extremists’. Similarly, Indian Home Minister Chidambaram also avoided to put blame on any terror group besides saying that the probe will not be based on any "pre-determined assumptions". Avoiding a blame game, in an effort to avert reaching hasty conclusions on the latest Mumbai blasts, would prove to be an upright development. A number of times in the past, Pakistan and India peace process had been spoiled by such acts committed by the extremists. The same mistake should not be repeated now and the talks must go on to take the Thimpu spirit ahead.

In this regard, outgoing Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao’s statement that Indian disengagement with Pakistan after 2008 Mumbai terror attacks was a mistake, also reflects a change of mind. Ms Rao’s views are indicative of a consensus within the Indian establishment to push the peace process forward. This seems to be a departure of typical Indian mindset to level baseless allegations against Pakistan and spread negative propaganda which was agreed upon by the foreign secretaries of both the neighbors in their recent meeting in Islamabad. On the other hand, this attitude shown by the Indian politicians has clearly disappointed the US hawks who wanted to exploit these attacks and keep Pakistan, already under immense pressure after Osama bin Laden raid, fulfilling their demands on their terms.

This American frustration can be seen in a leading editorial published in the New York Times (NYT) named ‘More horrors in Mumbai’. Reading behind the lines, the NYT actually tried to urge the Indian politicians not to react in a responsible way as it is the high time to manipulate the situation. Indians are treading carefully but the US tried to convey a veiled message to the Indian establishment to point finger at Pakistan, saying ‘if Pakistanis were behind this latest horror, Islamabad must ensure that they are brought to justice this time.’ If Indians take a leaf out of America’s book, their investigators may establish a link of any terror outfit involved in the attacks with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), to set 'terrorism' as main agenda of upcoming talks which would likely to cast a negative impact on the peace process.

This would also be assumed as an effort to put the Kashmir dispute on the backburner in the talks’ agenda. It must be understood in the clearest of terms that any talks without keeping Kashmir dispute at the centre will fail to get some concrete results. Indian authorities should properly investigate these attacks to reach any credible conclusions on the basis of solid evidences. The Indian government should also tighten the noose around Indian-based militant groups which had been found involved in such attacks in the past. Both the countries have to work together to wipe out cross-border terrorism and this can only happen if Pakistan on its part brings the culprits of 2008 Mumbai terror attack to justice. The process of avoiding negative propaganda and blame game can be the first major step in this long and bumpy road to bury the hatchet between both the arch rivals.