Pearls of Wisdom but Difficult to Understand - Indian Response

EDITED TODAY THE "4th December

President Zardari, while addressing the ‘Leadership Conference’ organized by India Times in Delhi on November 22, made some very interesting remarks which are not easy to understand. President Zardari could perhaps explain his following remarks!!

• I do not feel threatened by India and India should not feel threatened from us.

• Today we have a Parliament which is already pre-agreed upon a friendly relationship with India.

• In-spite of our disputes we have a great future together.

• Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had said: “We should grow to the challenge and with the help of the world we intend to grow with this challenge.”

• In every Pakistani there is little Indian and in every Indian there is a little Pakistani.

• To a question about any shift in Pak-US relationship as the new administration assumes office and whether he sees any decline in the ties, he responded: “It would happen if Pakistan was found lacking in fighting the terrorists.”

• To a question whether he missed his wife, President Zardari responded: “Spiritually, I feel her with me all the time. She is guiding us, not just me, but all the political forces in the country”.

• To a question whether India and Pakistan can become politically and economically a single entity, he responded: “Yes, economically.”

Is it a surrender without Battle???

President Zardari expressed his desire to be friendly with India and in the process went too far.And look at the Indian response! Without even an iota of evidence Indian Authorities are continuously blaming Pakistan for the non-state actors most deplorable act in Bombay. Interestingly, there is a similarity of the Indian Response with the US response on 9/11. Both US and Indian Governments within hours of the happening raised their fingers on 'Actors' without undertaking any investigations. Loks like it is the same people conspiring in New York and Bombay attacks.

Further to above and consequent to last week attacks on Bumbai, Indian Government without there being adequate evidence has adopted extremely unreasonable attitude towards Pakistan. From day one, within hours of the terrorists attack on Bumbai hotels/restaurants, which resulted in most unfortunate loss of over 200 human lives, Indian Government, media and the extremist Hindu elements have started the blame game on Pakistan Government and the religious groups.

Only yesterday, speaking at a joint conference with visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Indian Foreign Minister Parnab Mukherjee said that India had no doubt that the militants had come and coordinated from Pakistan. He warned that all options were open in dealing with Pakistan which would depend upon Pakistan Authorities’ response. Rice refused to ‘jump to any conclusions about who is responsible’ notwithstanding that the US Intelligence Officials have privately supported Indian accusations. She, however, said “Pakistan needs to act with urgency and with resolve and cooperate fully and transparently”. Rice said that “Pakistan has special responsibility to cooperate with the investigation into the deadly Bumbai attacks”.

The US Secretary of States’ response to Bumbai attacks is similar to the one given by US Chief of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen presently on visit to Pakistan. He has also asked Pakistan to “investigate aggressively” any possible links that groups based in Pakistan have to the Bumbai attacks. Mullen met President Zardari along with top military and security leadership and was assured of Pakistan’s commitment to join India in probing the Bumbai attacks.

The US Bipartisan Commission in its recent Report ‘World at Risk’ has referred to Pakistan as the weakest link in world security. The Report says that “Although Pakistan is a close US ally, its inability to control swaths of territory, violent political instability, and a nuclear stand off with neighbouring India make the Islamic nation the most lethal tinderbox of all”.

Looking back at President Zardari’s overtly friendly gestures towards India during his recent address to the Delhi Conference (as reported above), and one sided statements forthcoming from India (and of course from m the US), there is a definite need for Pakistan to review its overall foreign policy – more particularly in the context of its relations with India and the US. Pakistan has sacrifice a lot over the years in pursuit of supporting the international effort in removing the threat from extremists. Yet when it comes to their national interests, both India and US has let down Pakistan