Force Pakistan to dismantle terror

The New Indian Express First Published : 03 May 2011 10:51:00 PM ISTLast Updated : 03 May 2011 11:44:36 PM IST
Amid fully justified celebrations over Osama bin Laden’s elimination, the US and the rest of the world will do well to remember the unpalatable truth. It merely marks a milestone on a very long road, not the end of that road. In Arabic, al-Qaeda — the organisation he headed — means “the base”. As Osama bin Laden himself envisioned and articulated it, the base or foundation for a globally dominant Islamic caliphate. He himself, alas, was one stone in that base or foundation and, in recent years, not necessarily the cornerstone of that base. His killing might amount to winning a battle, but the war must go on. And the one inescapable inference emerging out of this two-decade long battle is that Pakistan is fast becoming one of the most hospitable sanctuaries for terrorists. That Osama was living in the garrison town of Abbotabad, where the Pakistan Military Academy is located, is not without significance.
India has rightly pointed out that the latest developments only confirm its repeated assertions that Pakistan has been playing a dual game of pretending to be a committed partner in the US-led war against terror while remote controlling terrorist activities against other countries. India should press the US and its Western allies to make sure that Pakistan stops sheltering, training and funding terrorists operating on its soil and dismantles their bases. Any display of hesitation on this count would erode the credibility of the US-led war on terror.
Common threads that run between Laden’s al-Qaeda and LeT, the group behind the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, should be a major cause of concern for the Indian security establishment. It must review its assessment of the post-Laden terror threats and work out an effective strategy to face it. Simultaneously, the government of India should not miss this opportunity to push Pakistan in a corner. It must mobilise world opinion in pressurising Pakistan to prosecute terrorists involved in the Mumbai terror attacks as well as other Jihadi groups indulging in anti-India activities. Till there is credible evidence that Pakistan is willing to do so, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should give up his obsession with Pakistan and go slow on the so-called confidence building exercises.