Comment by Karan Thapar
If Pakistan shows its willing to act, we need to be encouraging. This means we should distinguish between those who could be friends and others who will always be inimical. Lets appreciate the shades of grey reality is rarely black or white
How do you compliment someone you distrust without seeming to drop your guard?
That may not be the perfect analogy but it pretty much approximates the position India finds itself in after Pakistans response to the Mumbai terror dossier. The foreign minister called it a positive development. But that taciturn phrase ignores both the detailed nature of the investigation Pakistan conducted and the candour with which it revealed its findings. In fact, Mr Mukherjees language doesnt even convey the sense of pleasant surprise with which most Indians greeted our neighbours response.
Pakistan may not have done all we want and there is, of course, a lot more it must do. But Pakistan has done much more than we anticipated. And if speculation from across the border can be trusted, its quite possible Pakistan has done more than it publicly revealed. Reports suggest Rehman Malik informed our high commissioner of additional measures which were not communicated at his press conference. No doubt well find out about them through deliberate leaks.
Meanwhile, the press is concerned about three issues Pakistan side-stepped and we need to ask how much they actually matter. First, it has refused to extradite the accused. Rehman Malik did not even mention the matter. But could we have expected anything else? India and Pakistan dont have an extradition treaty and we know that handing over suspects could put the Zardari government in peril. Furthermore, neither the US nor the UK supports this demand.
Second, Pakistan has not accepted and, certainly, it will not investigate our claim that official agencies, possibly including the ISI, were involved. But then, again, how could it have? That would be tantamount to the Pakistani government accepting guilt and prosecuting itself! This apart, the Indian dossier did not establish such a link and all the major powers thatve seen it have said so publicly.
Third, it seems the trial will be in-camera. As far as I can tell, thats also how Ajmal Kasab is being handled in India. So why should similar treatment in Pakistan be deemed inadequate? Ultimately, what matters is bringing the accused to justice and not the quality of the trial, provided, of course, it doesnt lead to acquittal or the dropping of serious charges.
Next come the thirty questions Pakistan has posed and Mr Maliks comment that without receiving assistance from New Delhi, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for Islamabad to proceed with prosecution and ensure conviction. How can anyone doubt that? If we want the accused declared guilty and sentenced, we have to co-operate. It, therefore, follows that if Pakistans questions are not political or polemical, they must be answered fully and reasonably quickly.
Finally, there is the issue of local involvement. Frankly, this matter should not have had to be raised by Islamabad. We owe it to ourselves to be honest and upfront. It did not need Narendra Modi whose motives might be questionable to ask how something of this scale could have happened without someone in Mumbai being involved. Many others have raised the same question. No matter what the political compulsions, our governments reticence is neither acceptable nor even expedient.
In the weeks that follow, we will hear multiple and often contradictory voices from Pakistan. Of itself that should not perturb us. After all, were no different.
Similarly, the media will carry countless stories, of which many will be half-baked, a few deliberate disinformation and some pure lies. In fact, this will happen on both sides of the border. Again, we need to be careful about what we believe. Just because a Pakistani paper claims their government is contemplating X or Y doesnt make it true. Dont we read similar speculation in our own only to discover how untrue it is?
Above all, whilst its judicious to be sceptical, its not sensible to be prejudiced. If Pakistan shows its willing to act, we need to be encouraging. This means we should distinguish between those who could be friends and others who will always be inimical. Lets appreciate the shades of grey reality is rarely black or white.
The writer is a leading Indian television commentator and interviewer
If Pakistan shows its willing to act, we need to be encouraging. This means we should distinguish between those who could be friends and others who will always be inimical. Lets appreciate the shades of grey reality is rarely black or white
How do you compliment someone you distrust without seeming to drop your guard?
That may not be the perfect analogy but it pretty much approximates the position India finds itself in after Pakistans response to the Mumbai terror dossier. The foreign minister called it a positive development. But that taciturn phrase ignores both the detailed nature of the investigation Pakistan conducted and the candour with which it revealed its findings. In fact, Mr Mukherjees language doesnt even convey the sense of pleasant surprise with which most Indians greeted our neighbours response.
Pakistan may not have done all we want and there is, of course, a lot more it must do. But Pakistan has done much more than we anticipated. And if speculation from across the border can be trusted, its quite possible Pakistan has done more than it publicly revealed. Reports suggest Rehman Malik informed our high commissioner of additional measures which were not communicated at his press conference. No doubt well find out about them through deliberate leaks.
Meanwhile, the press is concerned about three issues Pakistan side-stepped and we need to ask how much they actually matter. First, it has refused to extradite the accused. Rehman Malik did not even mention the matter. But could we have expected anything else? India and Pakistan dont have an extradition treaty and we know that handing over suspects could put the Zardari government in peril. Furthermore, neither the US nor the UK supports this demand.
Second, Pakistan has not accepted and, certainly, it will not investigate our claim that official agencies, possibly including the ISI, were involved. But then, again, how could it have? That would be tantamount to the Pakistani government accepting guilt and prosecuting itself! This apart, the Indian dossier did not establish such a link and all the major powers thatve seen it have said so publicly.
Third, it seems the trial will be in-camera. As far as I can tell, thats also how Ajmal Kasab is being handled in India. So why should similar treatment in Pakistan be deemed inadequate? Ultimately, what matters is bringing the accused to justice and not the quality of the trial, provided, of course, it doesnt lead to acquittal or the dropping of serious charges.
Next come the thirty questions Pakistan has posed and Mr Maliks comment that without receiving assistance from New Delhi, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for Islamabad to proceed with prosecution and ensure conviction. How can anyone doubt that? If we want the accused declared guilty and sentenced, we have to co-operate. It, therefore, follows that if Pakistans questions are not political or polemical, they must be answered fully and reasonably quickly.
Finally, there is the issue of local involvement. Frankly, this matter should not have had to be raised by Islamabad. We owe it to ourselves to be honest and upfront. It did not need Narendra Modi whose motives might be questionable to ask how something of this scale could have happened without someone in Mumbai being involved. Many others have raised the same question. No matter what the political compulsions, our governments reticence is neither acceptable nor even expedient.
In the weeks that follow, we will hear multiple and often contradictory voices from Pakistan. Of itself that should not perturb us. After all, were no different.
Similarly, the media will carry countless stories, of which many will be half-baked, a few deliberate disinformation and some pure lies. In fact, this will happen on both sides of the border. Again, we need to be careful about what we believe. Just because a Pakistani paper claims their government is contemplating X or Y doesnt make it true. Dont we read similar speculation in our own only to discover how untrue it is?
Above all, whilst its judicious to be sceptical, its not sensible to be prejudiced. If Pakistan shows its willing to act, we need to be encouraging. This means we should distinguish between those who could be friends and others who will always be inimical. Lets appreciate the shades of grey reality is rarely black or white.
The writer is a leading Indian television commentator and interviewer
