Crossing borders

The Indian authorities, in principle at least, have agreed to allow a team consisting of an investigation officer, a magistrate and a doctor to come to India, talk to witnesses of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, inspect court records and review post-mortem reports. In return, they have asked for an Indian team to be allowed to interview suspects in Pakistan. The Indian decision seems to stem from fears that the chief suspect in the case, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, as well as several of his colleagues, may walk free, as Pakistani officials have been saying that without access to evidence in India, they lack material to place before the courts. Anger in New Delhi over Islamabad’s failure to bring to justice these men accused of involvement in the Mumbai attacks continues to strain bilateral relations.

Even though the gesture comes rather late in the day, it should be taken up. If there is to be any hope of defeating terrorism in the region, cooperation between New Delhi and Islamabad is essential. The Mumbai attacks underscored this. They could simply not have been carried out had groups or individuals in India not played a part in the planning of the attacks. There are also interlinkages between realities in India, most notably in Kashmir, and the rise of groups engaged in jihad in both that region and Pakistan. The issues that surround that disputed Valley and the human rights violations that take place there meanwhile give rise to the animosity for India that gives rise to attacks of the kind seen in Mumbai.

It is important that the two countries work together to defeat terrorism. Investigative teams should indeed be allowed to cross borders. There should also be open discussion on the various factors linked to terrorism, so there can be greater hope that people on both sides of the border will be free of the terrible fear of militancy that now stalks them.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2011.