Supreme Court nails Pakistan. Will UPA now actIJ
Away from the hype the media has created over the five-year jail term that the Supreme Court has given to popular film star Sanjay Dutt for illegal possession of arms, the far more important substance of the apex court's March 21 verdict on the 1993 Mumbai blasts is the ‘conviction' of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence in the serial blasts that had claimed more than 250 lives. While the revelation does not come as surprise to the intelligence agencies and the authorities who have investigated the case, the fact that the Supreme Court has categorically named and shamed the ISI, adds a fresh dimension to the issue. The Congress-led UPA Government will have to calibrate its response to the judgement, and that response has to be more effective than its earlier postures on Pakistan's hand in fomenting terror in the country. Islamabad has been for long claiming innocence, and only going as far as blaming ‘non state actors'. Of course, it is unlikely that Pakistan will change its attitude after the Supreme Court's verdict. In fact, statements have already begun coming in from across the border that trash the court's ruling and fall back on the old lament that Pakistan has itself been a victim of terror. Since it is futile to expect Islamabad to act on its own volition, India must seize upon the apex court's judgement and initiate steps to pressure Pakistan. To begin with, it must call off all engagements, personal and official, with Pakistani authorities. It must consider scaling down its diplomatic relationship and look afresh at trade and sporting ties that it so innocently believes will led to better relations between the two countries. Those haven't worked in the past, and they will not work now, especially after the Supreme Court has indicted the ISI. The UPA Government must come out of its dream world that so-called pacifists within the Government and the Congress, which leads the ruling coalition, have created and nurtured for years. Shockingly, that dream world has only become more romantic even after Pakistan's hand has been revealed repeatedly in various terrorist attacks that the country has faced in the two decades since the Mumbai blasts. It is this thoroughly misplaced belief that the more India condescends the greater the chances of Islamabad having a change of heart, which has strengthened the perception that India is a soft state.
New Delhi must also use the Supreme Court's verdict to push Pakistan into acting against 26/11 masterminds like Hafiz Saeed, who enjoy unfettered freedom in that country. New Delhi has given enough evidence post-26/11 to nail the culprits, but Islamabad has so far rubbished them as being inadequate. It's not the evidence which is lacking; what is in short supply is Pakistan's determination to act against the terrorists. That is understandable given that Islamabad has played a lead role in propping up those culprits. Much of the evidence that Pakistan has been given proved to be sufficient enough for the Supreme Court to uphold the death sentence of Pakistani national Ajmal Kasab, yet that very evidence is not good enough for Islamabad! It may now be argued that this is not the right time to push Pakistan against the wall (the country is in election mode). The point is: How long can India remain considerateIJ