As if the challenge facing President-elect Barack Obama of stabilising Afghanistan was not difficult enough, it may have just got much, much harder after the Mumbai attacks soured relations between India and Pakistan — undermining hopes of finding a regional solution to the Afghan war.
As discussed in an earlier post, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has blamed a group outside India for the attacks which killed at least 121 people. The coordinated attacks bore the hallmarks of Pakistani-based Kashmiri militant groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India says was set up by Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI.
Pakistan has condemned the attacks and an Indian government spokesman said the head of the ISI had agreed to visit India to share information — an extraordinary agreement given that the two countries have fought three wars and came to the brink of a fourth in 2001/2002. But it’s hard to believe that would be enough to appease India after the brazen attack on its commercial capital exposed its vulnerability.
So where does that leave Obama’s plans for Afghanistan, given that a major element of this was to persuade India and Pakistan to make peace over Kashmir?
As discussed in posts here, here and here, the argument is that the cause of instability in Afghanistan is in Pakistan, and that Pakistan in turn will never fully turn against Islamist militants as long as it believes it might need them to counter India. Since Pakistan is nervous both about the growing power of India on its eastern border, and about rising Indian influence in Afghanistan on its western border, the best way to calm the situation down, so the argument goes, would be to persuade the two rivals to make peace.
It was always an ambitious plan — getting India and Pakistan to put behind them 60 years of bitter struggle over Kashmir as part of a regional solution to many complex problems in Afghanistan. Have the Mumbai attacks pushed it out of reach? And if so, what is the fall-back plan?
(Reuters photo of smoke and flames billowing out of Taj Mahal hotel/Jayanta Shaw)
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Start analysing the root cause. The issue is Kashmir. All the terrorism that happens in India starts from there. So our poiticians should think about how to solve that issue peacefully.
- Posted by rajanI think we people only blaiming each other.The recent terror attack a very sad and shock incident. we need to do something collaborately for resist the any future attack.it was said that behind the attack there was the hand of Lashker-e-taiba which was set up by spy agency or ISI. Let’s something learn from the terror experience.
- Posted by Prabha MohantyMumbai attack was a sad incident as we all know and if i talk about the president Barack Obama then he is a genius person so his plan about terrorism will effective, we hope he will take care of all these matters.
- Posted by Angela ChristopherAmerica take aggresive not a defensive steps or not to give any further comment only see what India do.
- Posted by manish kumarOmar Mir, sorry to read your crap. You may be an Indian muslim but the kind of those who regard no reluctance and shame in giving their sisters and daughters in nikah to hindus. The way you have painted a rosy picture of your country and the so-called status of muslims in India, leave the readers in no doubt as to the hight of the degree of soul searching you need to be a called a true muslim and a true human being as well.What would you say abt the miseries of thousands innocent Kashmiris whose blood is on the bloodiest indian troops. where your conscience goes when you hear thounsand of our kashmiri sisters and mothers whose honour and izzat became a victim to the beghairat sina of your socalled secular country. How the hell you could compare yourself with honoured saudis when you are not allowed by hindu fanatics to follow SUNNAE IBRAHIMI. you are considered as a second class citizen and still you are dancing to the indian tunes is in vain. the history shows that hindus tradittionally are not trustworthy. they have been and will continue to be betraying you and yuor religion compelled by their particualt nature.Gujraat maasacre isn’t a forgotten story. By the way you indians claim of being an emerging power. The world is well informed and feel reluctant to subscribe to your selfprocalimation especially when the number of childs in your contries are dying of hunger and this death toll for your info is many times greater than those of any poverty striken african nations. plz get to senses and dont get out of propprtions. live and let others with peace. your inclination to follow the footsteps of your lords in the west will lead you to nowhere but to further destruction and desparation that is very dangerous to not only this region but to the whole world.
- Posted by Advisor On SanityPakistan has a very little time to act. Now.
Its now or never .
Let’s hope we learn from Mumbai experience. Even ordinary Pakistanis would have felt sad on Mumbai terror attacks
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- Posted by dev