When Mumbai was rocked with bomb blasts on July 13, it brought back the sad memories of Mumbai attacks in 2008 that derailed a fragile peace process between the Pakistan and India.
In 2008, New Delhi blamed the Mumbai attacks on Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group and there were fears of another war between the two neighbours. Although the Indian government has yet to blame any group for the recent Mumbai blasts, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s top leader L K Advani, a former deputy prime minister is pointing fingers at Pakistan. Such venomous accusations are totally unwarranted in the post-Mumbai scenario that is witnessing a joint effort to facilitate real-time information-sharing with respect to terrorist threats.
Keeping restraint, the Indian Home Minister Chidambaram did not jump to the conclusion this time yet found out that the “coordinated terror attacks” could be in retaliation to a number of arrests by police.
It is welcome that India has not rushed to blame Pakistan for the attack, and hoped New Delhi does not follow their stereotype line without investigating the matter meticulously. Both governments must show restraint, and concentrate on counter-terrorism regimes together.
Both states need to ensure that the meeting remains unaffected by the triple blast in Mumbai.
Any setback would only help the extremists on both sides and the nascent peace wish is not stalled again. Ministerial level talks between India and Pakistan are due at the end of the month. President Asif Ali Zardari’s message of condolence on this heinous crime will surely act as a ‘catalyst’ on the extremist forces working on vested agenda.
ATHER ABBAS
Islamabad