Pak's bluff exposed

The brutal killing of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl has brought to light two important things. Firstly, notwithstanding the ouster of the Taliban regime from power in Afghanistan, the fight against terrorism is far from over. And secondly, despite all the assurances by Pakistani President Parvez Musharraf to curb all kinds of terrorist activities in his country, Pakistan is still clandestinely aiding and abetting this manmade menace. As a matter of fact, after the fall of the Talibans, Pakistan is now seen as the biggest sponsor of terrorism.

Pakistan's role in helping terrorism may come as a shock to the world as after September 11, 2001, Parvez Musharraf on numerous occasions reiterated his resolve to wipe out terrorism from his country. But, we Indians were well aware about the double standard of the Pakistani President. We learnt that this man could not be trusted. He was the mastermind behind the Kargil intrusion. On one hand, he talked high about his support to the global war against terrorism, and on the other he morally and materially supported violent acts of terrorists in Kashmir in the garb of 'freedom struggle'. The direct telecast on Pakistan Television (PTV) of his informal meeting with the Indian editors during the Agra summit without prior knowledge of the latter exposed his intentions clear to all.

US President George W Bush may still find in Parvez Musharraf a trusted ally in the fight against terrorism, but the fact remains that the Pakistani police did not arrest the UK born militant Sheikh Omar Saeed, prime suspect in the  Pearl killing until he himself surrendered before the Pakistani authorities. Moreover, the news of his surrender was kept a well-guarded secret till Parvez Musharraf reached Washington. In this the Pakistani President's gameplan was simple. Coinciding the arrest of Omar with his visit to the US, Parvez Musharraf tried to impress upon the Americans about his sincerity and resolve to fight against terrorism and to extract maximum possible mileage from it. Fortunately, the US authorities did not pay any heed to his appeal to mediate on Kashmir issue and some other related demands.