Terrorism not insulated from Indo-Pak talks

Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, June 25 (PTI) The ongoing re-engagement
between India and Pakistan is not insulated from terrorism and
another Mumbai-like incident could lead to the disruption of
the fragile process, official sources said Friday.
The sources noted that current efforts aimed at
re-engagement, including Thursday's Foreign Secretary-level
talks and scheduled meetings of the Interior Ministers and
Foreign Ministers, were part of a delicate process that "could
go for a six" in the event of another terror attack.
The two sides will have to make incremental progress
in the re-engagement and the possibility of another
Mumbai-like will have to be calibrated into the process, said
the sources familiar with thinking at the senior levels of the
Indian government.
The sources also said India was "not satisfied" with
the progress in the ongoing trial in Pakistan seven suspects,
including Lashker-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman
Lakhvi, who have been accused of planning and facilitating the
2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.
"The Pakistan government does not seem to be pushing
it (the trial) enough," said a source.
The trial, being conducted by an anti-terrorism court
judge in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail since last year, has been
mired in controversy and procedural delays.
The judge has been changed twice and Lakhvi's counsel
has filed at least seven petitions seeking his acquittal,
challenging the case prepared by the prosecution team and
asking for the transfer of the trial to another court.
The sources raised questions about the quality of
evidence put together by the Pakistani prosecutors and
expressed concern at Islamabad's failure to respond to New
Delhi's request to provide voice samples of several persons
suspected of being the handlers of the terrorists responsible
for the carnage in Mumbai.
The use of the voice samples to pin down the seven
suspects could become a key part of the trial if the Pakistani
side chooses to collaborate in this regard, the sources said.
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