New Delhi, January 7
India today hit out Islamabad for rejecting in less than 24 hours the evidence provided to it on the Mumbai terror attack as New Delhi deputed a high-level ministerial team to visit Europe later this month to launch a high-voltage diplomatic offensive against Pakistan.
And as the ongoing war of words between India and Pakistan refused to abate, US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Richard Boucher was scheduled to meet Indian leaders here tomorrow after his talks with the Pakistani leadership in Islamabad.
“How can this rejection (of evidence) be credible or be based on a real examination and investigation of the evidence? This is political rejection without any basis. It is unfortunate that the Pakistan foreign office has chosen to regress into its previous patterns of denial of facts, evidence and reality,’’ said External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash.
Yesterday the Pakistan foreign office had accused India of ratcheting up tension and destroying all prospects of serious and objective investigations into the Mumbai attacks. And in a clear attempt to again distance itself from the Mumbai mayhem carried out by the LeT men with the support of elements in Pakistan, Islamabad had also offered to engage cooperatively with India to uncover the full facts behind the audacious attack.
The Indian spokesman dismissed Pakistan’s proposal to form a new mechanism and a high-level visit to India, wondering what purpose it would serve when Islamabad continued to maintain its attitude of deniability. “There are existing bilateral mechanisms set up at the highest level, such as the joint anti-terror mechanism, which Pakistan’s evasion and
denial have made in fructuous. It is, therefore, unclear what purpose would be served by yet another mechanism, or by a high-level visit, especially if Pakistan continues to maintain the attitude revealed by the (Pakistan) foreign office press release,’’ he asked.
The spokesman added, “The issue is not words or statements or the situation in South Asia. The issue is what Pakistan does about terrorist attacks on India from Pakistan.’’
UPA sources, meanwhile, said Union Ministers Kapil Sibal, Kamal Nath and Praful Patel and planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia would be leaving for Davos later this month for the World Economic Forum meet, on the margins of which they will meet ministers from other countries and present to them the evidence linking the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack with the elements in Pakistan.
The sources strongly refuted suggestions that India had been unable to turn screws on Islamabad over its failure to act on its commitment not to allow the misuse of the Pakistani territory for anti-India activities.
Asked how hopeful they were of Pakistan handing over the fugitives to India, the sources said, “They (Islamabad) have to act…they have to deliver on their commitment. If they don’t want to hand over these people to us, may be these terrorists could be handed over to a third country.”
Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma attacked Pakistan for remaining in a “brazen denial mode”. He said the evidence, which has been given to Islamabad, was sufficient for it to act against terrorists operating from its soil provided it was sincerely willing to do so. “Pakistan remains defiant…it has no intention to take action.’’
