December 13 Terrorist Attack: The Acid Test for the US
22 Jan, 2002 · 682
Kannan K points out the double standards of the US in tackling terrorism against the US and against India
During the US led coalition war on terrorism in Afghanistan, the US said [i] “it will not distinct [sic] terrorists and nations that harbour them” and “those nations will be regarded as hostile regime”; [ii] its war on terrorism will not end “until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated” [emphasis added]; [iii] “either you are with us or with the terrorists”. The present tension between
India
and
Pakistan
created by the 13 December 2001 attack on the Indian parliament by Pakistan-based groups could be regarded as the acid test for this
US
policy. The question is whether the
US
has followed this policy in the current South Asian crisis?
India
produced evidence against the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the culprits of the December 13 attack, the
US
was convinced; it froze the financial networks of these groups operating from
Pakistan
. The US also asked Pakistan to take “decisive action” against these organizations. Although they figured in the State Department list, the US has only now asked Pakistan to take action against them. Earlier the US had not pressurized the Musharraf regime in keeping with its [US] narrow objective of nabbing Osama bin Laden in a coalition war on terrorism that was said to be global. After much prevarication
Pakistan
arrested the JeM chief Masood Azhar and former LeT chief Saeed along with 50 terrorists, which has pleased Mr. Bush. However, they were not arrested for their involvement in terrorist attacks on the Indian parliament but, for delivering provocative speeches against Pakistan’s support for the US led coalition in Afghanistan, and disturbing law and order. By framing charges of minor nature
Pakistan
keeps the terrorists safe in
Pakistan
without extraditing them to
India
.
Pakistan
and the ISI have been involved in sponsoring and supporting cross-border terrorism in
India
. However, Mr. Bush has given a clean chit to Pakistan and the ISI, distinguishing them from terrorist organizations in Pakistan by characterizing the LeT as a “stateless sponsor of terrorism”, and further adding, “LeT has committed acts of terrorism inside both India and Pakistan”. Moreover, regarding the list of 20 terrorist given by India, Colin Powell said, “I…hope he [Musharraf] will take appropriate action. But it is in his hands” [emphasis added], signaling
US
helplessness, despite having the ability to pressurize
Pakistan
to extradite these terrorists.
US
is focusing narrowly on the capture of bin Laden. The middle path chosen by the US favours Pakistan for two reasons: [i] The US needs Pakistan’s cooperation in nabbing bin Laden who is suspected to be hiding in Pakistan, [ii] Pakistan’s dominant position in Islamic countries where terrorist elements, particularly the Al-Qaida, are dispersed. The US approach towards terrorism in South Asia is the touch-stone of its objectivity and sincerity towards fighting international terrorism in the future. However, with its own interests at stake, the
US
is unlikely to be objective.
US
; while the
US
initiated a war against
Afghanistan
for harbouring the Al-Qaida terrorist network, it has asked
India
to “refrain” from doing likewise against
Pakistan
, which supports cross-border terrorism. The policy that “either you are with us or you are with the terrorists” means there is no middle path option. Yet, the US made Pakistan, a country that harbours terrorism, a partner in its fight against global terrorism. In the current Indo-Pak situation, the
US
is striving hard to strike a delicate balance, despite equating the victim [
India
] with the culprit [
Pakistan
] by saying they “look forward to working with
New Delhi
and
Islamabad
in a common effort to shut it [LeT] down and bring the killers to justice”.
After
It is an open secret that
The
The current situation resulting from Indo-Pak bilateral tensions exposes the double standards of the
The
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