As Mumbai Siege Ends Accusations Begin
As the siege in Mumbai ends and the death toll rises, the usual script is in place of accusations and recrimination..
After a harrowing, deadly three days, the tensions between India and Pakistan have risen because of the brutality and killings during the attacks by perpetrators, one of whom, a Pakistani, is in custody.
From the NYTimes: "As the reckoning began after the three-day siege here, troubling questions arose about the apparent failure of the Indian authorities to anticipate the attack or respond to it more swiftly..
"And tensions were high, as well, between India and Pakistan, where officials insisted that their government had nothing to do with assisting the attackers and promised that they would act swiftly if any connection was found within their country.
"Perhaps the most troubling question to emerge Saturday for the Indian authorities was how, if official estimates are accurate, just 10 gunmen could have caused so much carnage and repelled Indian police officers, paramilitary forces and soldiers for more than three days in three different buildings."
IPS News reports: "There has been widespread condemnation in Pakistan against the violence in Mumbai, from ordinary people and non-government organisations as well as from the Pakistan government which has offered "complete cooperation" and support to India to fight the menace.
"The Mumbai attacks, hitting in the midst of the fifth round of the ongoing composite dialogue between India and Pakistan, are likely to have wide-ranging repercussions for India and Pakistan relations and for the international community at large.
"Analysts note that such attacks tend to take place whenever the South Asian neighbours are engaged in talks and peace initiatives. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had barely started his four-day visit to New Delhi to review the dialogue process when the attacks took place.
"Pakistan and India tend to blame each other for terrorist activities within their borders, although over the past year they have been less quick to point fingers. This time too, New Delhi did not immediately blame Pakistan, but later claimed to have arrested a militant with Pakistani links. The Pakistan government has strongly denied involvement.
"The Mumbai attacks, hitting in the midst of the fifth round of the ongoing composite dialogue between India and Pakistan, are likely to have wide-ranging repercussions for India and Pakistan relations and for the international community at large.
"Analysts note that such attacks tend to take place whenever the South Asian neighbours are engaged in talks and peace initiatives. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had barely started his four-day visit to New Delhi to review the dialogue process when the attacks took place.
"Pakistan and India tend to blame each other for terrorist activities within their borders, although over the past year they have been less quick to point fingers. This time too, New Delhi did not immediately blame Pakistan, but later claimed to have arrested a militant with Pakistani links. The Pakistan government has strongly denied involvement.
"Commentators in Pakistan point to the huge intelligence failure in India to detect the amassing of arms and training that have enabled such a large number of militants to hold Mumbai hostage for over two days now. They also criticise New Delhi’s apparent reluctance to look within India’s own borders at its various indigenous insurgencies.
" 'All of India’s intelligence agencies have failed,' comments Farrukh Saleem, who heads the Centre for Research and Security Studies, an independent think tank in Islamabad, 'The most critical element in their collective failure is their overwhelming focus on Pakistan-based militant groups.'
"He believes that the intensity of this focus has allowed India’s home-grown militant entities "to spread like wildfire" that, according to South Asia Terrorism Portal, afflicts at least 231 of India’s 608 districts.
"These insurgent and terrorist movements include three distinct types, "left-wing extremist, separatist and religious", wrote Saleem in a front page analysis in daily The News on Nov. 28. "In 2006, a total of 2,765 Indians died in terrorism-related violence (that same year, 1,471 Pakistanis died similarly)."
"Another analyst, who declining to be named, suggests that South Asian countries band together for joint military operations in the areas known to be breeding grounds for militancy against the guerrilla groups operating in different areas in the region."
" 'All of India’s intelligence agencies have failed,' comments Farrukh Saleem, who heads the Centre for Research and Security Studies, an independent think tank in Islamabad, 'The most critical element in their collective failure is their overwhelming focus on Pakistan-based militant groups.'
"He believes that the intensity of this focus has allowed India’s home-grown militant entities "to spread like wildfire" that, according to South Asia Terrorism Portal, afflicts at least 231 of India’s 608 districts.
"These insurgent and terrorist movements include three distinct types, "left-wing extremist, separatist and religious", wrote Saleem in a front page analysis in daily The News on Nov. 28. "In 2006, a total of 2,765 Indians died in terrorism-related violence (that same year, 1,471 Pakistanis died similarly)."
"Another analyst, who declining to be named, suggests that South Asian countries band together for joint military operations in the areas known to be breeding grounds for militancy against the guerrilla groups operating in different areas in the region."
As the investigations begin, let's hope that tensions between India and Pakistan don't iboil over and cooler heads prevail and that these South Asian countries work in concert
to halt these attacks
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