India must not jump to conclusions

Published on Friday 28 November 2008 20:34

THE Mumbai terrorist attack has proved to be on an elaborate scale that surely required significant planning and logistical support. However, as the assault on the Twin Towers proved, such sophistication does not mean India should jump to the conclusion that the Mumbai atrocity is the handiwork of its arch enemy, Pakistan. The one thing that should not be allowed to perish in the flames at Nariman House or the Taj Mahal Hotel is the growing, if fragile, rapprochement between the two nuclear-arme

In July, a suicide bomber destroyed the Indian embassy in Kabul, killing over 50 people. The Indian and Afghani governments blamed the Pakistani intelligence service. There is no doubt that elements inside the Pakistani security agencies have been willing to pursue terror tactics against their old enemy. However, Pakistan now has a democratic government which is trying to act more responsibly. Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has gone out of his way to try and reassure India that he is keeping his intelligence and security bodies under control.

It is an urgent task to find out just who was responsible for the Mumbai massacre and to neutralise them. It is in India's interest not to prejudge the matter, which will only hinder cooperation with Pakistan on security matters. Once we know the truth, then the reckoning can begin.