It has been apparent for quite some time now that Pakistan’s President, Pervez Musharraf, is riding a tiger. Yet, this cannot justify his passivity in the face of the growing power of jehadi terrorists. The impunity with which these people operate in Pakistan, and their activities in India, bode ill for the General himself. Yet, all that he was able to say was that Islamabad would act if India provided proof of the involvement of Pakistani elements in the July 11 blasts in Mumbai. Instead of this reactive approach, Gen Musharraf could have offered more active cooperation in investigating the case, as well as in acting against jehadi terrorists who are openly operating in Pakistan. He could also have rendered certain Indian terrorists who are hiding in Pakistan -- notably Dawood Ibrahim, Tiger Memon and Syed Salahuddin. In view of this, the General’s remarks, while welcome, do not really add up to much. Pakistan has to realise that it has today gained the dubious reputation of being the fountainhead of terrorism. It is the one that must shore up its credibility and provide proof of its commitment to deny aid and shelter to terrorists.
We are all aware that to allow the Mumbai blasts to disrupt the peace process would be to hand the terrorists a victory. An enormous amount of effort has gone into the process, which does have some achievements to its credit, such as the continuing ceasefire on the LoC and its opening up to traffic. Despite Pakistani complaints about its slow pace, the talks have been the most intensive Indian-Pakistani dialogue on issues like Kashmir and terrorism. Yet, no government in India can be immune to the enormous surge of public anger at the monstrous attacks on innocent Mumbai commuters.
Therefore, in the short-term, we are bound to have a slowdown of the peace process. However, it is still important to recall that the process is based on a blunt bargain -- India will work with Pakistan to find a just resolution to the Kashmir issue, but its vital pre-condition is an end to all attacks by terrorists based in Pakistan. No matter what Islamabad says about ‘proof’, it is widely accepted that it has not kept its side of the bargain. The sooner it does so, the quicker we can move to bring peace between the two countries.