India Blog Watch

The increasing terrorist attacks and the recent Mumbai train attack has shaken the government and the police departments to their roots. So as usual after the attack the police vigil has intensified cops now want to tap phone calls, your personal belongings are being frisked at each transport hub; your flights, trains and buses are delayed just because of extra security. The post ‘Tap Tap! Is that the government up your ass?’ is an excellent portrayal of the situation and the reactions to terrorism will generally end up as panic and frustration for a common man.

Speaking any language, that is non-European, at the airport in Europe and sometimes in the America too, may send you in police custody. The problems are bigger for Asian people especially for west Asians. Neha Vishwanathan has written a post on the danger of speaking the other languages at airports. Be it Seattle, Amesterdam and Heathrow, people have been detained under suspicion and later freed on many ocassion. The most important and never understood logic is that why the western security agencies, all the time, relate only non-European languages with terrorism.

Terror struck Mumbai on November 26, 2008 and India’s financial capital saw bloodbath, in what comes out to be India’s 9/11. India’s worst terrorist attack resulted in the death of 183 Civilians, including 22 foreigners. Recurring terror attacks have revealed the failure of the Indian Govt. to deal firmly with the issue of terrorism. Undoubtedly, India is increasingly becoming the soft target for terror and may be the focus for terror is shifting to India.

The initial investigation into the terror attacks that jolted Kabuls Indian Guest house Friday has brought to light evidences linking Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba to the attacks. At least 16 people, including 9 Indians, were killed Friday in a string of explosions and gunfire in the Commercial Zone of Kabul. Sayed Ansari, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security said, "We are very close to the exact proof and evidence that the attack on the Indian guest house … is not the work of the Afghan Taliban but this attack was carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba network,". The Afghan intelligence agencys spokesman said Lashkar-e Taiba are dependent on the Pakistani military. He further said, There were four men armed with rifles and suicide vests, one of them was heard speaking Urdu, and that they wore burqas to hide their gear.

A steady change is occurring in the US attitude towards Pakistan’s credentials on its nuclear front in order to seek latter’s cooperation on nuclear proliferation and terrorism. Obama administration is willing to consider offering a similar civilian nuclear deal to Pakistan akin to the one given to India. The shift in stance comes within less than a month of US saying no to any possibility of giving an atomic power plant or a civilian nuclear deal to Pakistan. The latest development is bound to raise diplomatic concerns within India and an even greater political commotion. However, does India really need to bother since there are so many factors which make the whole idea appear remotely impossible? Firstly, while the US may choose to forgive Pakistan for the A Q Khan episode by stating that the notorious scientist acted on his own, the international non-proliferation community including the 44-member Nuclear Suppliers Group through which such deal will have to get past; will strongly oppose any such offering given Pakistan’s tarnished non-proliferation record. Secondly, Pakistan is the hub of international terrorism and grave concerns have been raised time and again about the security of its already existing nuclear arsenal. Agreeing to civilian nuclear deal on top of that is the last thing international community would agree to in the current environment. Thirdly, Pakistan is a bankrupt state. Its’ a country that cannot even buy its own weapons and instead uses American grants to fund most of its arms purchases. Pakistan simply lacks financial capability to buy or absorb any nuclear power reactor. Even with India’s clean nuclear record the US-India deal itself remains to be fully implemented more than five years after it was first conceived, one can only imagine the time required US-Pak deal, if at all it has to come around one day. More than anything else the signaled shift in US policy it seems is something meant to placate Pakistan in order to extract greater cooperation on non-proliferation and fighting terrorism within the country.

The statement of Chief Minister Punjab Mr. Shahbaz Sharif has sent the entire nation in shock followed by condemnation. Mr. Sharif’s appeal has three major negative implications for Pakistan. First, by referring to a common cause, the chief minister has openly revealed a shared agenda with Taliban. That a political party can be one with Taliban in cause is a sign of political terror that goes way beyond militancy. Secondly, by requesting Taliban not to attack his province, he has sent out a clear word of provincialism in a time when the entire nation is under attack from militants. Does Mr. Sharif consider only Punjab as Pakistan is the question that already has found an answer in his statement. And finally, begging Taliban for mercy is an act of humiliating our security forces and civilians who are up against the insurgents in this war of terror. It is no wonder that parliament member Nighat Orakzai threw her Dhupatta, a symbol of feminine virtue, to offer to Mr. Sharif for protection against Taliban. An apology has been demanded of Mr. Sharif by parliament members as well as civilians for offending the nation’s sentiments by trying to appease the enemies of the nation.