Pakistan’s response to the Indian dossier on the 26 November terrorist attacks on Mumbai has been awaited for some time now.There has been speculation that Pakistan may dismiss the evidence presented by India. If statements emanating from that country are anything to go by, such fears may prove true. “Pakistani territory was not used so far as the investigators have made their conclusions,” Wajid Shamsul Hassan, Pakistan’s high commissioner in the UK, said on Friday. Hassan’s statement comes before the report of the Pakistani investigation into the probe has been handed to India. At the same time, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has said Hassan isn’t even authorized to comment.
While it was expected that a Pakistani investigation would be a duplicitous affair, Hassan’s sound bites have pre-empted anything the investigative report may have had to say, robbing it of credibility. There is nothing surprising in what Hassan and Gilani have said. Their utterances may sound contradictory, but they follow a pattern. First, deny any Pakistani involvement in terrorist attacks. Then say “We’re investigating the matter.” Finally, say the investigation has proved Pakistan’s point. This has happened in the past; can this episode be any different?
While it was expected that a Pakistani investigation would be a duplicitous affair, Hassan’s sound bites have pre-empted anything the investigative report may have had to say, robbing it of credibility. There is nothing surprising in what Hassan and Gilani have said. Their utterances may sound contradictory, but they follow a pattern. First, deny any Pakistani involvement in terrorist attacks. Then say “We’re investigating the matter.” Finally, say the investigation has proved Pakistan’s point. This has happened in the past; can this episode be any different?
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