'Motive of attacks to create conflict between India, Pak'

CHENNAI: The motive of the terrorists who attacked Mumbai was to create a conflict between Pakistan and India, Kishore Mahbubani, Dean and Professor (practice of public policy) at Lee Kuan Yew School, National University of Singapore, said today.

"The first objective of the terrorists who attacked Mumbai was to kill people. But their strategic motive was to create a conflict between Pakistan and India, which would give them an opportunity to operate freely in the country,"he said, speaking at a Plenary session organised during the final day of the Pan IIT 2008 Global Conference here.

Mahbubani said the terrorists wanted to get an 'angry response' from India, similar to what the perpetrators of the US 9/11 attacks had wanted to achieve.

He said the prospects of war between Pakistan and India were 'greatest' as compared to other countries.

He suggested that India, along with US and China, evolve a long-term policy to help Pakistan come out of its present situation. "There is no quick fix solution to the problem. What they (Pakistan) need is modernisation and not more madrasas" he said.

Mahbubani also opined that the world has changed fundamentally on its own and that the concept of global leadership now lay in the hands of developed nations.