despite the spectacular nature of the 2008 Mumbai attacks and considerable loss of life, most US officials saw this crisis as less dangerous than the 1999 Kargil and 2001-2002 “Twin Peaks” crisis. AFP
New York: India hasn’t been able to touch the kingpins who plotted the brazen three-day-long Mumbai terrorist attacks and the depressing truth is that the government’s failure and sang-froid in prosecuting them will invite more attacks from Pakistani terrorists.
Washington’s Stimson Center released a new study on US crisis management during the 2008 attacks and noted Pakistan’s military, political and judicial authorities have demonstrated that they just won’t take punitive action against the perpetrators.
“The Mumbai crisis remains unfinished. Ignited by terror attacks in late-November 2008 that were demonstrably launched from Pakistan, Indian grievances remained unresolved, while Pakistani policies remain dangerously subject to miscalculation,” said the study by Polly Nayak, who was the US intelligence community’s senior expert and manager on South Asia and Stimson Center co-founder Michael Krepon.
“Further attacks in India by extremists trained, equipped, and based in Pakistan can be expected, making another crisis likely,” warned the case study titled Mumbai 2008: The Unfinished Crisis. (Read the entire report here.)
A new study says that India's failure in prosecuting the masterminds of 26/11 will invite more attacks from Pakistani terrorists.
The South Asia experts said that despite the spectacular nature of the 2008 Mumbai attacks and considerable loss of life, most US officials saw this crisis as less dangerous than the 1999 Kargil and 2001-2002 “Twin Peaks” crises.
“US crisis management after the Mumbai attacks was exemplary — but it was effective largely because Indian political leaders did not wish to risk an open-ended war that could lead to uncontrolled escalation and jeopardise other equities,” said the study.
Headley’s extradition: mere legal jousting
Forget about getting the bad guys in Pakistan whom India has accused of orchestrating the attacks, India has no leverage even on US officials. Backed by a court order issued on Saturday, India is expected seek extradition of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative David Coleman Headley and his accomplice Tahawwur Rana from the US. But don’t hold your breath. Even if India seeks an extradition, experts here believe “little will come out of it except keen legal jousting.”
India can press for Headley all it wants, but it’s well known that Headley testified against his old friend Tahawwur Rana in the three-week long Chicago terror trial to avoid both the death penalty and extradition to India.
It may be far-fetched, but India can try to exploit a legal loophole to get Headley. He has been charged under 12 counts in the US and he has entered into a plea bargain for these cases. It requires creativity but what Indian investigators need to do is seek his extradition on other counts for which an arrangement has not been struck.
“We will write to the US with reference to the court order. New Delhi will highlight that the charge sheet against Headley and Rana is not restricted to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case alone. It covers offences which don’t come under the 12 counts on which Headley struck the plea bargain deal,” said a home ministry official.
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