Futility of Indo-Pak Talks

Recent discussions between the Indo-Pak Foreign Secretaries (FS), Ranjan Mathai and Jalil Jilani respectively, have concluded expectedly, with no meaningful and trustworthy pledges from Pakistan to raze the anti-Indian Islamist terrorist infrastructure on Pakistani soil. Some days before the commencement of Indo-Pak FS talks, bloodcurdling divulgements from the detained terrorist, Abu Jundal, emerged in the public domain, which infuriated the Indian public. Abu Jundal, with many aliases, confessed, under the custody of the Indian investigative officers, that there was meaningful Pakistani State support for the monstrous terrorist atrocity in Mumbai in November 2008 (26/11).

Jundal was detained by Indian law enforcement officials after being under surveillance for months, as asserted by the Indian Home Minister, P Chidambaram. Jundal was nabbed by India also due to valuable cooperation between the Indian and Saudi espionage/security departments, with helpful interventions from the U.S. at times. Abu Jundal was one of the handlers of the Pakistani terrorists during 26/11. Jundal, an Indian national, was intimately ensconced in the plotting and execution of the ‘26/11 terrorist barbarities.’ Jundal has also admitted his presence in the notorious ‘Control Room’ in Karachi, which was installed by the ISI elements to guide the terrorist carnage in Mumbai. Significant ISI officers, Major Sameer Ali and Colonel Hamza, have been declared by Jundal as facilitators of the bloodletting during 26/11.

These macabre disclosures by Jundal were not wholly shocking as the Indian government had sturdily believed, even before Jundal’s wings were clipped, whatever Jundal has disclosed now. Nevertheless, New Delhi embraced considerable riskiness by permitting the scheduled FS talks to go ahead. India should, however, have responded in a diplomatically muscular fashion by deferring the FS talks indefinitely. An unswervingly nationalistic message should have been dispatched by the Indian Government to Pakistan by cancelling the recent FS meeting. New Delhi ought to have demonstrated meaningful solidarity with the casualties of the murderous Pakistani terrorism in Mumbai on 26/11. A fashion of demonstrating strong solidarity with the victims was postponing the FS discussions till Pakistan provides India with deep-rooted actions that Pakistan has adopted to paralyze the ‘potent 26/11 conspirators in influential positions in the Pakistani State.’

Pakistan has, unfailingly, refrained from rendering legitimacy to the bountiful reliable evidence that India has deposited in Pakistan pertaining to the Pakistani State’s participation in the ‘26/11 mayhem.’ Pakistan has dismissed the Indian Government’s mountainous corroboration vis-à-vis the connection of the Pakistani State’s protagonists to 26/11. Negligible validity has been attached by Pakistan to the Indian State’s voluminous evidentiary documents expressing the Pakistani State’s complicity in the dastardliness of 26/11.

Members of the Pakistani military and espionage departments connived with the Pakistani Islamist terrorists [Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)] to train, indoctrinate, arm and subsidize the terrorists, who eventually arrived in Mumbai to accomplish their ghoulish mission.  Abu Jundal was the prime Indian support for the evil agenda of the Pakistani plotters/perpetrators of 26/11 as Jundal provided the Pakistani terrorists in Mumbai with useful information about Southern Mumbai’s localities.

Pakistan has unwaveringly pronounced that India needs to demonstrate more ‘concrete proof’ about the Pakistani State’s relation to the ‘26/11 bloodbaths.’ Simultaneously, Pakistan has showered commendations upon the ISI and has refused to acknowledge the Pakistani State’s clandestine endorsement of 26/11. The ISI/ Pakistani military have already been labeled by Islamabad as uncontaminated and guiltless as regards the ‘gore of 26/11.’ The perilously ultraconservative Islamists like Hafeez Saeed, against whom the Indian State has delivered copious proof regarding his involvement in the planning and implementation of 26/11, has been proclaimed by Islamabad as a person with impeccable social welfare credentials, due to his association with Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). JuD is an organization that functions as the ‘charitable division’ of LeT, which has been designated as a worldwide terrorist association. Hafeez Saeed was a central player in LeT’s foundation to cause terrorism in Indian J&K and to wrest J&K from India. Pakistan has voiced that the substantial Indian evidence against Hafeez Saeed is ‘inadequate’ and ‘inadmissible’ in the Pakistani judiciary.

The relevant question pertains to the Indo-Pak dialogues’ usefulness. Pakistan has executed highly insufficient steps to undercut the anti-Indian Islamist terror factories in Pakistan. A few Pakistanis like Zaki-ur-Rehmaan Lakhvi, who are under the Pakistani State’s detention for their involvement in 26/11, have not been convicted yet. It is unsurprising that certain reports have emanated in the Indian media, which assert that these detained Pakistanis are experiencing a comfortable existence in the jail, from where they are running their terrorist factories. The trial of these few detained Pakistanis has been relentlessly adjourned. The Pakistani State has disingenuously rejected the Indian State’s copious evidence against elements of the ISI/ the Pakistani military/Hafeez Saeed. However, Pakistan continues to maintain the detention of the few aforesaid Pakistanis, without taking the trial of these Pakistanis to a logical conclusion that gives some justice to 26/11’s Indian and foreign victims.

Hafeez Saeed continues to utter despicably inflammatory statements vis-à-vis India in Pakistani cities during political rallies. His aides have attended certain gatherings organized by Imraan Khan’s political party, Tehreek-e-Insaaf. Saeed seems to be strengthening his political base in Pakistan, which essentially means that his deportation to India by Pakistan is improbable akin to Dawood Ibrahim’s deportation. The incumbent Pakistani Government, bedeviled by resilient corruption allegations against the Pakistani President, Asif Zardari, has also had to face the Pakistani judicial fury over inaction against those corruption allegations. This has resulted in the Pakistani SC convicting the preceding PM Yousuf Gilani for ‘contempt of court’, which created his departure from the Prime Ministership. If Imraan Khan’s fairly conservative political party, which is backed by orthodox clerical elements bitterly opposed to the Western military presence in Afghanistan, wins power in the national election next year, then the relations between Pakistan and India/U.S. are certainly going to sour. Imraan is epitomized by his advocacy of talks with the Talibani terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He desires the disengagement of Western troops from Afghani soil and blames the West, not the Talibani barbarism, for destabilizing Afghanistan. Imraan and his conservative alliance detest strong Pakistani-U.S. cooperation on the ‘war against terror.’ Imraan and his orthodox political partners haven’t voiced anything yet against the savagery of the anti-Indian terrorist groups in Pakistan.  He may never unequivocally condemn them and, if he becomes the PM, may never initiate actions that break these terrorist outfits’ backbone.

Indian military has presented evidence, which points to the existence of anti-Indian Islamist terror centers in PoK, Muridke, etc. in Pakistan.  While Pakistan may sporadically exterminate certain anti-Western Islamist fanatics, it will never act decisively against the Islamist terrorists venomously opposed to India. Indo-Pak disagreements have been over demilitarization of Siachen, over Sir Creek, etc. Regarding J&K, the solution of converting the LoC into an international border, which satisfies India, is never going to satiate Pakistan, which desires to control J&K. There is a massive deficit of trust between India and Pakistan. The Indo-Pak visa regime’s liberalization will represent a potent security threat to India as some Pakistani terrorists, amidst the peaceful Pakistanis, could enter India through this visa regime to create a bloodbath in the Indian public spots.

Indo-Pak talks are destined to be worthless. By talking to Pakistan when Pakistan continues to house lethal anti-Indian terrorist forces, India is, in a way, giving Pakistan a good certificate, which is against Indian interests. Certain members of the ruling PPP may genuinely want peace with India but the PPP government has to dismantle the terrorist forces antithetical to India. Unless that happens, talks have to be postponed indefinitely.- July 9, 2012.