‘Faustian bargain’ and ‘supping with the devil’ are expressions that occur often in any tract dealing with United States’ ties with Pakistan. In the interest of geo-political expediency, Uncle Sam is said to have frequently glossed over Pakistan’s multiple transgressions in areas ranging from nuclear proliferation to terrorism.
New Delhi virtually accused Washington of going down this familiar route, after the US filed ‘Statement of Interest’ before a New York court in a civil case initiated by American family members of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack victims, in which it effectively sought immunity for the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and two of its former Director Generals (Ahmed Shuja Pasha and Nadeem Pasha), who were named defendants in the case.
The Obama administration did not immediately disclose grounds for seeking immunity or release the filing, made just before the Monday deadline. But US officials indicated the submission was made on technical grounds and said that it is “based on one specific case and should not be viewed as a US government determination on the merits of the Plaintiffs’claims.”
“We continue to strongly condemn the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai,” a State Department official said, adding, “We also continue to urge the government of Pakistan to dismantle Lashkar-e-Taiba and to support regional and global efforts to combat terrorism.”
But the statement offered little consolation to New Delhi, which was clearly upset by the US action and made known its anger and dismay. “From our perspective, this decision is a matter of deep and abiding concern,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement. “The leadership of the US has publicly stated its commitment to counter terrorism, to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and to bring those responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks to justice. In this context the decision of the US authorities is a cause of serious disappointment.”
