India tightens screws, asks for Azhar, Dawood
With Pakistan getting caught in a web of contradictions over the whereabouts of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, India has stepped up pressure on Islamabad to hand over the terrorist who is wanted in India in connection with the IC-814...
By ET Bureau |
NEW DELHI: With Pakistan getting caught in a web of contradictions over the whereabouts of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, India has stepped up pressure on Islamabad to hand over the terrorist who is wanted in India in connection with the IC-814 hijackings and the Parliament attack.
New Delhi wants to ensure the limelight is on JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar as Islamabad through its contradictions is now seen as wanting to shield a terrorist who was released by India in exchange for hostages of the hijacked IC-814 flight. The Indian establishment has calculated that this is an issue over which India can now effectively corner Pakistan.
With Islamabad unwilling to take tough action against the Lashkar-e-Toiba in spite of repeated calls by the international community, India is now focusing on specific areas where it can push for action and handing over of fugitives, both Pakistani and Indians, to India is one such action.
���There is no reason why Masood Azhar cannot be handed back to India. It makes no sense,��� sources said, adding ���They have an international obligation to hand him back.��� Sources further said that there are laws that allow Pakistan to
extradite Masood Azhar to India even in the absence of an extradition treaty.
India as part if its diplomatic offensive wants to expose the ���give us evidence������ strategy that Pakistan has adopted to shield itself over inaction on dismantling the terror infrastructure.
Using Pakistan���s flip flops on Masood Azhar and the attempts to cover up the nationality of the lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab as evidence of Pakistan���s inability and unwillingness to take any action, sources said that there is little impetus to share evidence on the Mumbai terror attacks with Pakistan.
���We will decide what evidence to share after the investigations are complete. How much we share depends on Pakistan,������ sources said, and added, ``Today there is very little credibility in that system.������
Additionally, Pakistan���s inaction and subsequent flip flops have also added to the growing suspicion that there is a ``larger involvement������ from the Pakistani Army and ISI then earlier thought. Though the sources refused to take specific names of people in the ISI and the Pakistani Army who were involved in the attacks, Islamabad���s attempt to shield terrorists and terror outfits is being taken as an example of state involvement in the terror attacks against India.
New Delhi wants to ensure the limelight is on JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar as Islamabad through its contradictions is now seen as wanting to shield a terrorist who was released by India in exchange for hostages of the hijacked IC-814 flight. The Indian establishment has calculated that this is an issue over which India can now effectively corner Pakistan.
With Islamabad unwilling to take tough action against the Lashkar-e-Toiba in spite of repeated calls by the international community, India is now focusing on specific areas where it can push for action and handing over of fugitives, both Pakistani and Indians, to India is one such action.
���There is no reason why Masood Azhar cannot be handed back to India. It makes no sense,��� sources said, adding ���They have an international obligation to hand him back.��� Sources further said that there are laws that allow Pakistan to
extradite Masood Azhar to India even in the absence of an extradition treaty.
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Another fugitive that India wants is Dawood Ibrahim. Dawood Ibrahim has been in all the 10 lists that India has handed over to Pakistan since August 2004. Sources said that apart from Russia, a number of other countries have also shared their belief with India that Dawood Ibrahim, who is believed to be living in Karachi, and his drug network has been used in the Mumbai terror attacks.India as part if its diplomatic offensive wants to expose the ���give us evidence������ strategy that Pakistan has adopted to shield itself over inaction on dismantling the terror infrastructure.
Using Pakistan���s flip flops on Masood Azhar and the attempts to cover up the nationality of the lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab as evidence of Pakistan���s inability and unwillingness to take any action, sources said that there is little impetus to share evidence on the Mumbai terror attacks with Pakistan.
���We will decide what evidence to share after the investigations are complete. How much we share depends on Pakistan,������ sources said, and added, ``Today there is very little credibility in that system.������
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External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee had also asked Pakistan to act on evidence that India has already handed over to Pakistan. This, apart from the list of fugitives that India has handed over 10 times also includes leads in various earlier terror attacks. Additionally, Pakistan���s inaction and subsequent flip flops have also added to the growing suspicion that there is a ``larger involvement������ from the Pakistani Army and ISI then earlier thought. Though the sources refused to take specific names of people in the ISI and the Pakistani Army who were involved in the attacks, Islamabad���s attempt to shield terrorists and terror outfits is being taken as an example of state involvement in the terror attacks against India.
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���The problem is that as you go through a system that is fragmenting, it is difficult to find out who knew what. What is conclusive is how they acted after the Mumbai attacks,������ sources said. ���The proof is the behaviour on the ground.��� Download
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