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War of words clouds India, Pak relations
The fog that settles over Delhi and Lahore in winter seems to have enveloped India-Pakistan relations, reports Amit Baruah.
The fog that settles over Delhi and Lahore in winter seems to have enveloped India-Pakistan relations.
We will cooperate, said Pakistan post-26/11, then demanded proof before taking action. After deciding to send the ISI chief to help probe the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan’s civil government backtracked.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said India was trying to make a “scapegoat” out of Pakistan.
Indian ministers, too, have blown hot and cold. War is not an option, said one. All options are on the table, said another. Finally, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stepped in to say: “No one wants a war.”
Even Pakistan Opposition politicians like Nawaz Sharif are playing to the gallery. After declaring that the only terrorist captured alive, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, was a Pakistani, Sharif said on Monday that if India didn’t have evidence, it should avoid making fake allegations.
“We should not say or do anything that adds to the war scare Pakistan is trying to create,” said T.C.A. Rangachari, India’s former deputy high commissioner to Pakistan.
