Pakistan struggles to deal with Indian allegations

ISLAMABAD: The country's top three political and military leaders met on Saturday to discuss the tricky situation resulting from the Indian government's move to blame 'elements within Pakistan' for the Mumbai carnage, but some of the actions and statements in response to Delhi's tirade were indicative of a growing gulf between the government and the security establishment on the ways and means to handle the entire affair.
The chief of Army Staff General Asfaq Pervaiz Kayani had a detailed meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. Sources in the government said almost the entire discussion was focused on the situation arising out of the Mumbai episode, and Pakistan's response to Delhi's accusations. Although there was no official word on what actually conspired during the meeting, the official and unofficial statements emanating from different quarters of the establishment suggested clear differences in perception, if not policy matters.
Following this meeting of the so-called troika, the Prime Minister chaired the meeting of his cabinet to formalise the government's response. And President Asif Zardari, speaking to an Indian news channel, assured India of Pakistan's fullest assistance and support in investigations into the Mumbai carnage.
'As the President of Pakistan let me assure you that if any evidence is found, I will take action against those involved... without hesitation, no matter where it will lead to,' he told Indian journalist Karan Thapar during the interview. While sympathising with the people of India and particularly those in Mumbai, President Zardari also appealed to them to go beyond self-interest, and work collectively to isolate what he described as 'non-state actors' involved in terrorism.
President Zardari also clarified that instead of the Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence, a senior official of Director-level would be visiting India to hold talks on sharing of evidence. He said if at a later stage a need was felt for a greater cooperation, the DG of the two countries' intelligence services can also meet to discuss matters.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Quereshi, while briefing newsmen on the cabinet meeting and other related developments, also offered all out cooperation to investigate the matter. The foreign minister also called upon the Indian side to take effective measures to lower the level of tension over the issue.
However, officials from Pakistan's security establishment were suspicious of the Indian move, and the way pressure was being built on Pakistan over the Mumbai issue. A senior security official minced no words in declaring that because of the rising tension, the next 24 to 48 hours were extremely crucial. He squarely blamed India for indulging in the blame-game without even investigating the matter, and said that at this stage Pakistan's security establishment was applying the methods to avoid what he called an 'unwanted
war.'
Simultaneously the security officials said if the tension between India and Pakistan over this issue continued to rise, they may be compelled to shift some of its troops deployed along the border with Afghanistan to the eastern border with India.
Some of the political and security analysts described these differences in approach and perception to the challenge as nothing unusual. According to them the fears of Pakistan's security establishment were because of years of suspicions about the intentions of the Indian authorities to undermine Pakistan. Lately, they have also been blaming Indian intelligence for direct or indirect involvement in creating trouble in the tribal regions of Balochistan and North West Frontier Province. However, an analyst also pointed towards the army's lack of patience with the handling of these matters by the politicians.
Sources in the government said it was quite obvious that President Zardari and the government were quite keen to resolve the matter through dialogue, even if it meant going an extra mile in extending cooperation. But these sources acknowledged that this is where the trouble lies, as the security establishment was of the view that certain decisions were being taken without even consulting them. The undue haste shown in announcing the decision to send the DG ISI to Delhi on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's request was being referred
to as an example of this lack of communication.
It was not clear if these were just irritants, or the trust deficit between the political and military leadership on these and other issues was gradually increasingly. But according to one security analyst, perhaps the decisions and actions in the next couple of days may help clear up the matter.