Author: Kalyani Shankar
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: May 6, 2011
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/336717/Lessons-from-Osama%E2%80%99s-killing.html
India does not need to be soft while dealing
with terrorism or terrorists sheltered by Pakistan. Nor should India's politicians
reduce national interest to what will fetch them votes in elections
While announcing the elimination of Osama
bin Laden, US President Barack Obama has said with satisfaction that "justice
has been done" to the 9/11 victims. It took almost 10 years for the US
to relentlessly pursue the Al Qaeda leader and kill him in his hiding place
in Pakistan in a dramatic manner.
Mr Obama and the Americans have much to rejoice.
They have been able to teach a lesson to those who dared to attack the US.
For them the security of every American is more important than anything else.
While the Republicans and the Democrats are politically opposed, they work
in unison where national security is concerned. In fact, the US law-makers
have already begun to put pressure on the Obama Administration to get Islamabad's
explanation about the presence of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. The US has
provided more than $20 billion in aid to Pakistan since 9/11. But Washington,
DC needs Islamabad for its Afghan strategy.
Mr Obama is sure to get a second term for
his courageous decision to go after Osama bin Laden hiding for the past five
years in a villa surrounded by houses of retired Pakistani military officers
in Abbottabad, 60 km away from Islamabad. However, the extent of collusion
between Osama bin Laden, the Pakistani military and the intelligence agencies
is a matter of debate.
Is there a lesson for India to learn from
the elimination of Osama bin Laden? What about justice to our own victims
of the Mumbai terror attack? What about justice to the victims of the Parliament
House attack in which security guards and Parliament staff gave their lives
while dealing with the terrorists.
One might argue that New Delhi has adopted
the due process of law. Agreed that these culprits have gone through the judicial
process but why is not justice being done after the courts have pronounced
the death sentence to Afzal Guru who has been held guilty of plotting the
attack on Parliament House? The mercy plea is still awaiting a presidential
decision. How come Dawood Ibrahim, mastermind of the Mumbai 1993 bombings,
is walking free in Pakistan?
Already people have started questioning the
delay in punishing Afzal Guru and the murmurs will grow further in the coming
months after Osama bin Laden's killing. India's political class is hesitant
to use force to punish terrorists. India's military chiefs had suggested surgical
strikes across the border after the Mumbai terror attack and Parliament House
attack but the political leadership on both occasions lacked nerves and capitulated
under pressure from the US and other foreign Governments.
Unfortunately, the politicians seem to be
confused about justice to the culprits and their vote-bank politics. This
is true of Afzal Guru or Ajmal Kasab as the politicians worry more about their
votes rather than giving exemplary punishment to the terrorists. The national
parties like the Congress and the BJP are seen to be pleading for or against
the punishment to Afzal Guru, keeping in mind their vote-banks. What is the
religion of terrorists? Things that affect the national security should not
be confused with religion or vote-banks. Politicians should allow the law
to take its own course. India should learn a lesson or two from the Americans
and the Israelis who have shown time and again that non-state actors who indulge
in terrorism will not be tolerated.
Second, Osama bin Laden's exit and the way
he was eliminated has provided an opportunity to India to send a message to
Pakistan and the world on 26/11. It is bound to put pressure on the Manmohan
Singh Government to rework its Pakistan policy as well as AfPak policy. As
Mr Obama and his Secretary of State, Ms Hillary Clinton, hinted after the
announcement of killing of Osama bin Laden, it is clear that the Americans
need logistical support of Pakistan to deal with Afghanistan while Pakistanis
need the American dollars for improving their economy and military strength.
This mutual dependence on each other is going to continue for some more time
and therefore the US will not push Pakistan beyond a point. New Delhi must
use this opportunity to impress upon Washington and the international community
the need to force Pakistan to deal with other terrorist outfits in a firm
manner. Otherwise, Osama bin Laden may be dead but the jihadi terrorism may
continue.
Third, while the US can declare with satisfaction
that it has hunted down Osama and killed him, there is no such relief for
New Delhi as we are still expecting Pakistan to deliver to the perpetrators
of Mumbai terror attack. Moreover, proxy war on the Kashmir border still continues.
Now is the time to build international pressure on Islamabad to deliver perpetrators
of 26/11-terror attack to justice.
It is clear that so long as the Pakistan Army
controls there could be no real change in India-Pakistan strategy. When the
ISI could manage to keep out the American agencies from discovering the hiding
place of Osama bin Laden for five years, how can one expect that it would
deliver Lashkar-e-Tayyeba? One lesson from the American experience is that
New Delhi should also explore other avenues, as simply depending upon Pakistani
authorities is not going to yield results.
