With Pakistan facing immense pressure to act against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks, former President Musharraf has asked the world to "sympathise" with the country which is a "victim of circumstances," instead of blaming it for terrorism.
"We have been a victim of terrorism, we have been a victim of circumstances over the last three decades for which a certain atmosphere has been created," said the former military ruler during whose tenure Pakistan became a key ally in the US-led war on terror.
Musharraf said Pakistan had contributed a lot to the war against terror and the world should appreciate its contribution rather than blaming it all the time.
"The world should see our problems and what we have faced. We have contributed so much towards anti-terrorism war and the world should really appreciate that and sympathise with us, instead of blaming us," he said.
International pressure is mounting on Islamabad to take "effective" action after the Mumbai terror attacks, believed to have been carried out by Pakistan-based elements.
The former President, who had to concede power to democratic parties after elections in the country early this year, said it was "unfortunate" that fingers are pointed at Pakistan "very often" and advocated that Islamabad take a strong stand against this.
"Pakistan is unfortunately blamed very often and we should take a strong stand on this. Pakistan is not responsible for terrorism anywhere in the world," he told ARY Television.
His comments came against the backdrop of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telling the leadership here that there is "irrefutable evidence" of involvement of elements in Pakistan in the Mumbai attacks and it had no option but to act urgently "otherwise, the US will act."
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
RAW intercepted satellite talks, had warned Govt on Nov 26: Report
Top government officials were Tuesday at a loss to explain why they did not react to information purported to have been given by the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's external intelligence agency, pinpointing the time frame, route and the Mumbai locations that would be attacked by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
At least on four occasions and even on Nov 26, the day that 10 militants laid siege on high-profile targets, including the Oberoi Trident and the Taj hotels, RAW had tipped off the authorities of the impending attack by sea and even given information of the time, according to a media report.
We warned govt, says RAW official
"Yes, we gave the information as we had been intercepting these satellite phone conversations for a while. But don't ask me why it was not acted upon," said a senior RAW official who because of service rules cannot be named.
The Hindustan Times newspaper front-paged a report Tuesday that on Sep 18, Sep 24, Nov 19 and Nov 26, RAW had intercepted conversations between a LeT asset and an unknown person that an operation to target hotels was being planned and the sea route would be used.
"On November 19, RAW listeners picked up another unexplained satellite phone conversation. A voice said, 'We will reach Bombay between nine and eleven.' RAW trackers identified the exact coordinates of the call and discovered that it came from the sea near Mumbai, 40 km west of Jhol," said the newspaper report.
Why RAW inputs were not acted upon?
According to RAW officials, the information was relayed to a centralised intelligence group set up by the National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan.
Officials in the Intelligence Bureau, the home ministry and the intelligence wing refused to comment on why the RAW inputs were not acted upon.
The government spokesperson was not available for comment. At least 183 people, including 22 foreigners, were killed when a group of terrorists, allegedly from Pakistan, sneaked into Mumbai last week and struck at several prominent sites, including two luxury hotels.
At least on four occasions and even on Nov 26, the day that 10 militants laid siege on high-profile targets, including the Oberoi Trident and the Taj hotels, RAW had tipped off the authorities of the impending attack by sea and even given information of the time, according to a media report.
We warned govt, says RAW official
"Yes, we gave the information as we had been intercepting these satellite phone conversations for a while. But don't ask me why it was not acted upon," said a senior RAW official who because of service rules cannot be named.
The Hindustan Times newspaper front-paged a report Tuesday that on Sep 18, Sep 24, Nov 19 and Nov 26, RAW had intercepted conversations between a LeT asset and an unknown person that an operation to target hotels was being planned and the sea route would be used.
"On November 19, RAW listeners picked up another unexplained satellite phone conversation. A voice said, 'We will reach Bombay between nine and eleven.' RAW trackers identified the exact coordinates of the call and discovered that it came from the sea near Mumbai, 40 km west of Jhol," said the newspaper report.
Why RAW inputs were not acted upon?
According to RAW officials, the information was relayed to a centralised intelligence group set up by the National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan.
Officials in the Intelligence Bureau, the home ministry and the intelligence wing refused to comment on why the RAW inputs were not acted upon.
The government spokesperson was not available for comment. At least 183 people, including 22 foreigners, were killed when a group of terrorists, allegedly from Pakistan, sneaked into Mumbai last week and struck at several prominent sites, including two luxury hotels.
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