Indian officials heaped scorn at Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik for allegedly making “preposterous claims” as the latter exited the country on Sunday.
Much like the effect of his earlier comments on Babri Masjid and Mumbai attacks, the Indian government was left in utter shock and dismay when Malik claimed Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Abu Jundal had worked for Indian intelligence. “Abu Jundal has worked as a source for an elite Indian agency… Now (after using agencies) he has gone rogue,” he said.
“Such a statement is ridiculous. Abu Jundal was working with LeT on Pakistani soil when the Mumbai attacks were carried out,” Indian Home Secretary RK Singh asserted in his rebuttal. Meanwhile, Former Indian Foreign Service official KC Singh maintained Malik’s public comments during his visit had detracted the enormous forward movement in consular relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2012.
COMMENTS (64)
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@Queen: The reality is that pakistan is imploding it self and India is the only country who can save it from self destruction.
@gp65: "I agreed to the concept that there can be double agents. I did not agree that Abu Jundal could possibly be a double agent. This man has only kiled Indian citizens. How could he be an agent of Indian agencies?" Yes that's what I meant.I had infact reffered your complete post if you see it again.I have little knowldge about Abu jandal so I trust you more on that matter.Agreed.
@Sabi:@gp65: YEs there can be double agents…. Agreed." I agreed to the concept that there can be double agents. I did not agree that Abu Jundal could possibly be a double agent. This man has only kiled Indian citizens. How could he be an agent of Indian agencies?
Rehman Malik holds a UK Passport and he was debarred by Pakistan Supreme Court as a Minster. Now he becomes an advisor to the President. What a joke. Pakistanis couldn't find a person within Pakistan. It is sad that they have to import this person from UK.
It is impossible for Pakistanis to save themselves from self destruction. Pretty soon their all weather friend China will give up. This is only a country where the President avoids to stay. Without invitation, he jets around Europe, Middle East etc. Will he have any respect outside Pakistan?
@gp65: YEs there can be double agents.... Agreed.
@Indian: Indian, to add to your thoughts. India is making a big mistake in opening up visas and this Shinde talking about unlimited visas- I hope he was making a fool of Malik.
The story is very fitting to India-Pakistan relations and goes like this-
One side of the river bank was getting flooded. The frog was preparing to swim to the other side when a scorpion beckoned to him and asked if he would carry the scorpion on his back to which the frog refused. The scorpion again begged for help and promised that he will never sting him. The frog although doubtful relented much pleading from the scorpion. Midway in the river, the scorpion stings the frog. The paralysis begins to set in slowly. The frog and the scorpion will both drown now. The frog asks the scorpion why he did it. The Scorpion replied that stinging is his habit, it is in its nature, he cannot help it.
Here we all know who is the frog and who is the scorpion. All Indian politicians should know the scorpion and understand its duplicitous nature. If you have to make promises to a scorpion, only make false promises. You can't show civility with a scorpion.
he is a political juggler and the rest of us commenting on his statements are stupids for wasting our time on his remarks. why not u all understands that diplomacy and politics are two separate things.
@Sabi: "It is not strange if such crimminals work for both agencies for money making"
YEs there can be double agents. But to say that RAW paid someone to train Pakistanis to kill Indians in 26/11 stretches the imagination beyond normal. When he was in India, he was part of a banned organization called SIMI - which stands for Students Islamic Movement of India which has been involved in many internal acts of terror - for which no one holds ISI or Pakistan responsible. Also his nick name wasn't Abu Jindal, it was Abu Jundal. His actual name was Ansarei. HE was wanted in an arms hall case in 2006 when he left India for Pakistan where he was provided a Pakistani passport. His job was to teach Hindi to the 10 people so that Pakistan could claim these boys were Indian and not Pakistani. Until Geo news actually broke the story about Kasab being from Faridkiot, if you recall that is the exact line that was being taken by Pakistani government and media.
@Talha: "@kris: passport may be fake and illegal."
hahaha you think Saudis are stupid ? If he was travelling on a false passport he would have been promptly beheaded. And if the passport was fake, why was the whole Pakistan embassy staff desperate to stop the Saudis from extraditing him to India ? You should read your own Pakistani English newspapers.
Ignorance will lead to your fall.
Here Malik wrong; there right? Speaks volumes of Paki hyporacy.
@gp65: "Some facts on Abu Jandal:" It is not strange if such crimminals work for both agencies for money making,however points you made carry weight too.
@Rana: "Malik’s statement about Abu Jandal is a reality that would be difficult to digest on part of Indian government!"
It's a reality in the world of people who believe that Mossad brought down the WTC building on 911, that kasab is actually Amar Singh, that bin laden is a CIA agent called Tim Osman and so on.....
@kris: passport may be fake and illegal .
pakistani leaders make comments only for domestic consumption.........Indian leaders make comments only for world consumtion.............
I strongly suspect that Mr Rehman Malik is an ISI/TTP agent who was sent with specific purpose of destroying the positive atmosphere of understanding coming up between two countries.
Well said Rehman Malik.... It will be very and I mean VERY difficult for the Indians to digest this reality :)
Well said Rehman Malik ...... It will be very and I mean VERY difficult for the Indians to digest this reality :)
Why on earth can we not live in peace
Indians are now realizing that how stupid this guy really is
What a man! Wherever he goes he leaves people scratching their heads.. Definitely Prime Minister material haha
@Zaid Hamid: Lolz @zaid hamid.By the way ,why do Hindu Brahmins r on your target :)
@kris: Pakistan should end all relations with india . Do you live in 10 th century ?
@falcon If Rehman Malik is such a clown and is not taken seriously in Pakistan, what sense does it make for Pak govt to make him interior minister/secretary/advisor, put him in such a sensitive position, and have him go to India? This man's stupidity had badly damaged India-Pak ties, and undermined people to people trust and confidence. Thanks to him, his stupidity and insensitivity, many Indians despise Pakistan. As long as Rehman and his ilk (and there are many like him in Pakistan) persist with their denials, delusions, and obfuscations, Pakistan will continue to get punished and suffer and go down the drain. We are seeing this daily. What Pakistan can inflict on India is mere pinpricks; India will survive it and become stronger. But what it is doing to Pakistan itself, daily terrorist attacks, collapsing economy etc, will destroy the country. Congratulations for going on this path of self-destruction. Enjoy! I feel bad though for the decent, liberal Pakistanis who can see beyond short-term gains and feeling of revenge. They should just emigrate to that the world can deal with this problem.
Guys karma is immutable. You are suffering on a daily basis the ill effects of bad karma in the form of bombing and killing of innocent people in your country. I hold Rehman Malik and those who support his statements in India as directly responsible for the horrors your own poor and defenseless people are undergoing. There is a limit even for hatred, You may hate us with all your might , but be prepared to pay its price. India need not lift a finger, the law of karma takes its course. It may be slow but sure.
When I see bomb attacks that happen daily in Pakistan like the one ripped the bus stand at Jamrud today, I feel sad for the suffering of the people of Pakistan. But when I see such statements by your interior minister and support for his foolish and down right atrocious statements getting support from Paksitani posts here , I feel it is all Karma and Pakistan cannot escape from its bad effects and all you guys Rehman Malik and his supporters here are directly responsible for the multitude innocent people blown up by bombs on a daily basis in your country. You have lost all sense of shame.
@kris:::For example ??
So this guys has thanked the Taliban in the past for helping keep religious holidays peaceful, then he has called them as characters dressed in Star Wars outfits and now this...Real life troll!
Who allowed Malik to travel to India? Just proves that some Pakistanis should stay home, permanently!
hahaha Rehman Malik at his best
@kris: Isolationism, a very effective Anglo American strategy against its opponents.
About time someone spoke the truth to the Indians. Of course they will deny it, but their perfidious conduct is the societal norm.
If an IQ test is conducted, I can assure you that the average IQ of all Pakistani ministers cannot exceed 85. Which would still be higher than the average IQ of all Pakistanis which I suspect to be 69.
@Jat: You are trying to put sense on brain dead people. Pakistanis will believe just anything especially when something is as preposterous as Rehman Malik's claim. Can you blame misguided Pakistanis who do not even know what you pointed out.
@Jat & all other Indians...don't forget once Osama Bin Laden was also working for US. Malik's statement is absolutely right. Indian govt is not in shock on the validity of this statement but they were not expecting such open ststement in the public.
@Falcon: We also don't take Man Mohan Singh seriously, but he is our PM, and any remark by him would reflect official stance of india.
Likewise, Mr Malik is a senior politician and minister and any remark by him does reflect official position of pakistan on the issue. Personaly, however, I too feel Mr Malik is not the right person and incumbent indian govt the right govt to talk peace( they both have all-time low credibility in respective countries). They are only going to botch up the entire process, and with the sabre-rattling that ensues, they will try to extract maximum political mileage for the upcoming elections in both countries.
@Arijit Sharma: Maybe you should check the Gothic TTP's picture who was caught in Peshawar before name calling Pakistanis.
@Pakistani: That's because you 'want' him to be right. Unfortunately, facts and history are against you.
Mr.Modi had said the right thing from the beginning of visit . Now Congress should clarify its stance and the purpose of this visit . Show this man his way.
Abu Jindal does sound like a name that only Indians can come up with. Could'nt they just give these agents normal names like Saleem/Arif or something. You Indians keep disappointing.
@Jat:
That make sense. He was their own agent thats why they were able to get all these. No doubt indian information was correct, because they planted whole information themselves.
WHo ever is right this Jundal man should be quickly hanged.
Rehman malik has a very low IQ. His ridiculous statements would worsen the ties with india even further. Why was he sent there to represent Pakistan, in the first place? He should not only be sacked but humiliated for his dismal performance during in the last 5 years.
Since I'm not Indian it certainly doesn't bother me but... Seriously, can't you find a person for Malik's position who has some kind of tact? It's like he spends most of his time trying to find a way to embarrass Pakistan.
Grapes are sour, i mean very very SOUR
What was Rehman Malik eating when he was giving these statements. Banana or apple?
why is india acting like israel and taking everything to heart?
Some facts on Abu Jandal:
He is an Indian citizen (no-one denies it)
A couple of months back h was extradited by Saudi Arabia to India where he was living with a Pakistani passport for 3 years.
PAkistani agencies tried very hard to prevent the extradition of Abu Jandal to India. This is a matter of record.
Pakistan's own media has identified and broken the story that the 10 people involved in 26/11 were indeed Pakistanis.
So what is Rehman Malik saying that Indian agencies managed to give Pakistani passport to Abu Jandal and then asked him to train 10 Pakistanis to come on boats to India and kill Indian people and then sent him to Saudi Arabia from where they pretended to extradite him? Obviously if India was pretending to extradite him then KSA too must have played along?
And then he says that whatever trust gap existed with India has been resolved as a part of his vist?
Frankly whatever else one may say about Zulfiqar Mirza he correctly assessed this man with his seb and kela comment.
Is there anyone in Pakistan who was expecting a different outcome? Do we not know his proclivity to put his foot in his mouth always? We are experts at making a fool of.ourselves.
This is true. We first disclosed that his real name is Arnab Gosvami. He is a hindu brqhmin working for RAW.
Why should only Pakistan be amused by the frequent pearls of wisdom from Mr Malik? I think we should send him on a worldwide comedy tour.
I'm amazed by the amount of uneducation in pakistani diplomats..but what else should we expect from a country that teaches hatred from the elementry schools onwards..
The bold comments of Rehman malik should not be seen from repentant angle. If we have to move forward, then both sides must resolve to accept truth. One cannot oblige the other side unreasonably.
This is ONE good thing he has done in last 5 years !!!!! for a change, he gets a "Shabaash" from me ....
Malik's statement about Abu Jandal is a reality that would be difficult to digest on part of Indian government!
Mr. Malik's statements are not really surprising. The Pakistani society on the whole lives on a heavy diet of conspiracy theories and conjectures. To expect Mr. Rehman to exhibit a different trait would be a mistake.
What is going on? There is so much back and forth. We make some progress, and then one person does something stupid and the whole discussion goes back to square one. On a side note, Rehman Malik is not taken seriously even in Pakistan, why are Indians so much concerned about what he said?
Malik is absolutely right..
India should end all relations with Pakistan.
Why did Pakistan government issue him a passport if he was working for the Indian agencies ? Why did Pakistan embassy in Saudi Arabia made frantic attempts at stopping his extradition to India ? Moreover Indian agencies and CIA have got records of his phone conversations.
Rehman Malik is absolutely correct this time
thanks rehman malik :)