The date for bilateral talks between the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan has been fixed on 25th Feb 2010. The likely venue is New Delhi and they will discuss the issues at hand regarding the infiltrators in the LOC as well as the terror front. But, no one is going to take the responsibility of the bloodshed that has occurred in Mumbai as well as Pune.
The blast in Pune was not unexpected, as this city had been mentioned in the speeches held in POK during the recent congregation of a number of terrorist outfits held there.
Those factions, the non-state actors, who do not want peace in this sub-continent, have demonstrated once again that they can strike at will, like the blast in the German Bakery in Pune. They have made their intentions very clear that they will keep creating trouble and hamper the peace process.
The Shiv Sena activists gained nothing in trying to protest against Shah Rukh Khan’s statement regarding non-inclusion of Pak players in the IPL. In the process a movie got a larger than life projection.
This resulted in mass deployment of Police force at movie halls and multiplexes and left the rest of Maharastra as a soft target for the hoodlums to carry out their plans without any hindrance. German Bakery was a soft target, and the multiplexes were protected. We concentrated fully on that so that movie should release without any problems.
The Home Minister P. Chidambaram had also stated that he would provide proper security in support of inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in IPL. Shiv Sena did not think it right to protest against Home Minister and they got a better way to go against Shah Rukh Khan.
India had vowed that if anything happens post-26/11, it will retaliate at will. After 26/11 India had said that enough is enough and this time we will see who does it. But then Hillary Clinton, First Secretary to the Govt of US always advocated that India and Pakistan should sort out things with bilateral talks and keeping that also in mind, it was announced that the talks will be held on the 25th Feb., and ‘ the hoodlums’ blew the cracker in Pune two weeks before the talks.
The point was also thoughtfully chosen, a German Restaurant in Koregaon Park, Pune, was the one frequented by foreigners, close to Osho Ashram and near to Chabad House. Many Jews who visited the city stayed at Chabad House. Eleven people have died and more than sixty injured in this blast. The timing of this blast has been chosen with a view to disrupt the peace talks to be held in another 10 days time.
BJP suggests that India should not talk to Pakistan on this issue and withdraw from the talks, but that would be a wrong approach. In fact India should cease this opportunity and ‘Terror” should be the number one agenda in these discussions. That should be a slap on the faces of the perpetrators of 26/11 as well as Pune carnage, that despite their efforts to create a divisive atmosphere, India and Pakistan are still willing to come on a common platform and trying to sort out a solution to kill the terror-flu.
We are aware that efforts are on to nab the culprits of the Pune’s attack. But as and when they are nabbed, the procedure is painfully slow. First we will have to tell the big-brother that these are the bloody people who have done it. Then he will tell us what to do.
Thereafter, it will take another six months to find out whether he or she is a minor or major. Then the proper rule under the IPC will be applied. They will then be served with mutton-biryani like Kasab and Afzal for decades.
And meanwhile such attacks will continue unless a major crack-down on their hide-outs in made which requires a lot of policing. Police in US, UK and France are abl