The mastermind behind the Mumbai carnage of 2008 and the one responsible for the killing of 166 innocent people and wounding nearly 300 of them, is set free by Lahore High Court. He remained imprisoned for six years for trial in the conspiracy of sending jihadi suicide squad to Mumbai where they unleashed unprecedented carnage of innocent people.
Ordering him a free man, Lahore High Court has observed that the Government of Pakistan has failed to provide convincing evidence of Lakhvi’s involvement in Mumbai carnage. Government of Pakistan continued telling India and the world that Pakistan was prosecuting the culprits with all seriousness and was helping the court in carrying the prosecution to its logical conclusion. Pakistan Government’s commitment stands in direct contrast to what the Lahore High Court has stated in its verdict. According to the court decree, entire onus rests with Islamabad Government.
The question arises whether Pakistan Government deliberately withheld full evidence from the court or that it had not pursued the matter at all. Readers will bring to mind that India gave more than sufficient evidence about Lakhvi’s involvement in Mumbai crime. Did or did not Pakistan Government submit that plethora of evidence to the LHC, is the question. In all probability, Islamabad withheld it from the court for the reason that it would have judicially established the criminal act and then India would have demanded extradition of Lakhvi. Pakistan wanted to avoid that embarrassing situation because it would mean creating great chaos within Pakistan polity.
Islamabad cries hoarse that it has become target of jihadis and terrorists. On international fora Pakistan projects itself as the victimized nation. If that is true and Pakistan has become the target of terrorists, what is the sense in not cooperating with the High Court and not providing details of information, which the court desired to be placed before it. The simple inference is that Islamabad has double standards for dealing with terrorism.
It is following a double policy: one towards the terrorists and jihadis that pose a threat to the interests of the ruling class in Pakistan. The other is the jihadi outfits deployed against the Indian presence in Kashmir. Islamabad is harsh to the former as is evident from Pak Army’s Zarb-e-Azab campaign in North Waziristan. In the name of military action against insurgents in Waziristan, who are a conglomerate of formation of Pakistani Taliban, Afghan Taliban and remnants of Al Qaeda, indiscriminate oppression has been let loose against the masses of people in Waziristan… War against the extremists in Waziristan has resulted in the killing of thousands of innocent civilians and destruction of their houses and properties. The war has paralysed life in Waziristan and people are fleeing their homes in thousands. Pakistan army is using heavy weaponry including artillery to smash the homes and their occupants in Waziristan. On the other hand and at the same time, it is providing full logistical support to the terrorists deployed to fight Indian security forces in Kashmir. One a single incident of a civilian killed in Kashmir in military action, Pakistan raises clamour on all national and international platforms that Indian is violating human rights of Kashmiris. What has Pakistan to say about human rights violations in Waziristan and Baluchistan? Should not Pakistan account for those atrocities? Are her hands clean of bloodstains of innocent people who are Pakistani nationals?
Who will believe that Pakistan has no evidential documents to show to the High Court? India has passed on copious stuff on this issue to Islamabad showing that Lakhvi was the main actor with whom the 26/11 culprits were engaged in conversation while they were conducting massacre in Mumbai. Somebody in the west has very rightly said that Pakistan is the mother of all international terrorism that has become major source of threat to humanity. How can Pakistani civil society escape the consequence of what their Government is doing in the name of religion? For quite some time, Pakistan nurtured violence and bloodshed against the Indian forces in Kashmir. Today all that has boomeranged on her. The armed jihadis have not only opened fronts against religious minorities but also against the army itself, which they accuse of pro-American proclivities.
In these circumstances Pakistan’s expectations that India will come to the table for talks on resolving bilateral issues are meaningless. How can Pakistan talk peace with dagger hidden under the cloak? New Delhi must not remain content with the simple remark of the Home Minister that India is disappointed at the release of Lakhvi from the jail. New Delhi must review its latest stand and convey to Islamabad in very frank and unambiguous words that dagger and cloak policy is not acceptable to India. We have no obligation to bail out Nawaz Sharief when he cannot bail out his self.
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