Zardari says that Mumbai attacks were planned only to topple his government. Maybe it was planned by ISI and Pakistani army so that Zardari government falls?
Mumbai attack was meant to topple my govt, says Zardari- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times
NEW DELHI: Highlighting action against Lashker-e-Toiba and detained Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Maulana Masood Azhar as evidence of Pakistan’s committment in fighting terror, president Asif Ali Zardari maintained that the Mumbai attacks were targeted at his government and blamed non-state actors for the security situation within Pakistan.
Portraying Pakistan as a victim of terror, Mr Zardari in an Op-ed piece in The New York Times puts the blame on non state actors for targeting the peace process between India and Pakistan. “The Mumbai attacks were directed not only at India but also at Pakistan’s new democratic government and the peace process with India that we have initiated.
Supporters of authoritarianism in Pakistan and non-state actors with a vested interest in perpetuating conflict do not want change in Pakistan to take root,’’ said Mr Zardari.
The Pakistani president urged India to refrain from making”inflammatory statements’’ saying that his government was ready to act against the “non state actors’’ and indicated that he was keen on continuing with the peace process.
“But we caution against hasty judgments and inflammatory statements. As was demonstrated in Sunday’s raids, which resulted in the arrest of militants, Pakistan will take action against non-state actors found within our territory, treating them as criminals, terrorists and murderers,’’ he wrote, and added, “Not only are the terrorists not linked to the government of Pakistan in any way, we are their targets and we continue to be their victims.’’
He maintained that he understands the UPA government’s domestic compulsions. “We understand the domestic political considerations in India in the aftermath of Mumbai,” he wrote. “Nevertheless, accusations of complicity on Pakistan’s part only complicate the already complex situation.”
Incidentally, Mr Zardari’s plea for help and international understanding comes a day after the Pakistani army arrested Lashker-e-Toiba commander and suspected Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Maulana Masood Azhar, who was released by India in 1999 in exchange for passengers of the hijacked IC 814 flight, has also been placed under house arrest.
Mr Zardari, who starts his Op-ed piece on a personal, emotional note, says that he understands India’s pain in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks and that his own family had been the target of terror elements. Comparing the Mumbai terror attack to the terror attack on his wife Benazir Bhutto’s homecoming rally in Karachi on October 18, 2007, the Pakistani president said that the Mumbai attack was a “painful reality of shared experience.’’
“We can identify with India’s pain. I am especially empathetic. I feel this pain every time I look into the eyes of my children,’’ he said on his wife falling victim to the second terror attack in December 2007. The Pakistani president urged collective international action against terror elements that he says took root during the cold war in Afghanistan. He said the international community must work together to track down the terrorists who struck in Mumbai and other cities including Islamabad.