Islamabad’s incoherent attitude since the Mumbai terror attacks was on display yet again when a senior Pakistani diplomat said the attacks were not planned in his country only to be ticked off by the country’s Prime Minister.
Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan shot his mouth off when he said that he had spoken to Pakistani interior ministry officials to check on reports that said the attacks were planned in the UK.
“They told me there was no evidence of UK involvement. The attacks were not planned in either Pakistan or the UK. However, they said it was planned in some other outside place. It may not necessarily be a country — it could be a ship,” he told a news agency.
Hasan was later contradicted by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani who, speaking to a news channel in Davos said: “He can’t comment at the moment when the Prime Minister can’t comment. How can anybody comment? Because it is only the job of the Interior Ministry.”
This isn’t the first time that Islamabad has goofed-up since 26/11. Earlier, Gilani sacked the country’s National Security Advisor Mahmud Ali Durrani when he confirmed that Mumbai attack accused Ajmal Kasab was a Pakistani national.
Before that, Islamabad had said they had detained Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar only to retract later that Azhar was not in Pakistan.
This isn’t the first time that Islamabad has goofed-up since 26/11. Earlier, Gilani sacked the country’s National Security Advisor Mahmud Ali Durrani when he confirmed that Mumbai attack accused Ajmal Kasab was a Pakistani national.
Before that, Islamabad had said they had detained Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar only to retract later that Azhar was not in Pakistan.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said New Delhi hadn’t received any information from Pakistan “through official channels”. “We have given them material. We expect them to investigate and let us know the outcome of the investigation. This is not the way the government should respond,” Mukherjee said in response to a question about media reports that 26/11 attacks were not planned in Pakistan.
‘Initial probe done’
Pakistan on Friday said it has completed its preliminary investigation into India’s dossier on the Mumbai terror attacks and will share the findings with New Delhi and rest of the world.
“The Federal Investigation Agency of the Interior Ministry of Pakistan has completed the preliminary investigation and sent (its report) to the law department,” Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters.
(With PTI inputs)