Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Zardari’s flip-flop

Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman, the captured terrorist, has said he hails from Faridkot in Pakistan and that the Lashkar promised him that his family would be paid Rs.1.5 lakh if he executed his job successfully. President Zardari, on the other hand, says the terrorist is a “stateless” actor and that there is no proof that he is a Pakistani.

If terrorists hailing from Pakistan are “stateless,” we can, by extending the argument, assume that the places in which terrorists run training camps are also “stateless.” After identifying such places, the countries affected by terrorism should have the right to strike at them and liquidate the camps. President Zardari, I am sure, will have no objection to strikes being carried out in such “stateless” regions.

N. Muthuswamy,

Chennai

President Zardari has lost his credibility by saying ‘no’ to India’s request for handing over the fugitives in its ‘most wanted’ list. He is evidently under the control of the ISI and the fundamentalist forces in his country.

Fazal Ahamed,

Vellore

It is not as if Pakistan is taking such a hard stance under Mr. Zardari’s regime alone. In the 60 years of the country’s existence, all its leaders have indulged in doublespeak vis-À-vis India. Does Mr. Zardari not realise that the forces he seeks to protect killed his wife and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto?

B. Thiagarajan,

Coimbatore

Mr. Zardari does not appear serious about improving ties with India. Saying, on the one hand, that he is ready to extend full cooperation in probing the Mumbai attacks and demanding evidence that the arrested terrorist is a Pakistani, on the other, is improper.

K.G. Balachandran,

Ernakulam

Successive Pakistani governments have encouraged terrorism against India and the Zardari regime is no exception.

India should not live under the illusion of getting Pakistan’s cooperation in its fight against terrorism.

Sachin Kumar Singh,

Varanasi

Unlike 2001 when terrorists attacked Parliament, Pakistan has a civilian government in place and it may not even be aware of the design of the terrorists.

But if India has proof of the ISI’s involvement, it is an altogether different matter. New Delhi cannot continue to take things easy.

K.R.A. Narasiah,

Chennai

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