Govt’s firm line on Pak welcome

Augest.27 : It is just as well that the Prime Minister chose the forum of the ongoing conference in New Delhi of India's ambassadors and high commissioners overseas to underscore that this country had been a victim of terrorism, and that it was essential to tackle global terrorism with vigour and resolve in order to ensure national progress. After the fiasco of the Sharm el-Sheikh joint statement with Pakistan, which sought to "de-bracket" terrorist acts against this country and talks with Pakistan, it was important to reassure India's top diplomatic representatives that the official position in respect of terrorism emanating from Pakistan was not in any way being sought to be played down for a short-term or expedient reason. It was evident after Sharm el-Sheikh that there was not a little unease with the formulation among our top diplomats overseas and senior officials of the external affairs ministry. There was the distinct impression abroad that among those uncertain about the perceived change were particularly those who have dealt with Pakistan and India's neighbourhood. Dr Manmohan Singh's extempore address on Tuesday is likely to assuage any professional anxieties our diplomats may have entertained. What is more, the issuing of a Red Corner Notice by Interpol against Hafiz Saeed, Pakistan's principal ideologue of jihad against India who is officially described here as the "mastermind" of the Mumbai outrage last November, materialised on the day the Prime Minister addressed the diplomats on a matter of existential concern.

The Red Corner Notice against Saeed follows the request recently made by the CBI to Interpol buttressed with suitable evidence. The international police organisation clearly saw merit in the case made out by the CBI, although the authorities in Pakistan have consistently dismissed the material produced by Indian investigators as being inadequate for the purposes of prosecution. Saeed had been placed under house arrest initially in the light of a UN Security Council resolution naming him as a terrorist to be restrained, but the Lahore high court set him free a few months ago as the Pakistan government did not press the case against him. Apparently, he is now being tried in camera in Rawalpindi. Since the trial is being held in secret, it can be made to take a turn that the authorities choose. Given Saeed's deep-going relationship with Pakistan's spy agencies in the light of that country's covert war against India, it is a given that only that aspect of the trial will be permitted to be made public as suits Islamabad. The Red Corner Notice is not an international arrest warrant. Nevertheless, after the Interpol's move, the Pakistan government will be under some pressure to at least give the impression that it is not taking the matter lightly. India, however, cannot afford to let up pressure in respect of Saeed and other dramatis personae in the Mumbai terror attack. The Prime Minister had spoken of credible information on terrorist threats from Pakistan at a conference on internal security a week ago. This had been the first intimation of a pull-back from Sharm el-Sheikh. Dr Singh's address to the diplomats is in the nature of confirming that trend. A day earlier, external affairs minister S.M. Krishna had been quite blunt in telling the heads of our missions that meaningful dialogue with Pakistan can begin only when it takes serious steps in the Mumbai case. A consistent line thus looks to be emerging. But to signal that there can be no ambiguity about this, the discussions at the foreign secretary-level - proposed at Sharm el-Sheikh - need to be kept in abeyance until the circumstances are apposite.