Once again India has failed in its attempts to demonize Pakistan at international forums. A former officer in the Indian Home Ministry has recently disclosed that a member of the intelligence team had accused the government of “orchestrating” the terror attack on Parliament and the 26/11 militant siege of Mumbai.
R.V.S. Mani, who as Home Ministry under-secretary signed the affidavits submitted in court in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, has said that Satish Verma, until recently a part of the CBI-SIT probe team, told him that both the terror attacks were set up “with the objective of strengthening the counterterror legislation (sic),” according to a report in the Indian media.
Mani has said that Verma “…narrated that the 13.12. 2001(attack on Parliament) was followed by POTA (Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act) and 26.11.2008 (terrorists’ siege of Mumbai) was followed by amendment to the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act).”
The official has alleged Verma leveled the damaging charge while debunking IB’s inputs labeling the three killed with Ishrat in the June 2004 encounter as Lashkar terrorists. According to NHCR reports, 440 fake encounters were reported during 2002-2007 in India. In the fake Parliament attack case, Indians hanged Afzal Guru without providing any proof of his involvement. India also failed to prove that these attacks were planned or supported by Pakistan.
In Sarbajit Singh case too, India all along maintained that Singh was not a spy but after his unfortunate death, he was cremated with full state honor that clearly meant that India officially recognized Sarbjit Singh as Indian spy and took the responsibility of spreading terrorism in Pakistan.
Similarly, the bombing of Samjhauta Express in 2007 was first blamed on Pakistan but later it was found that Swami Aseemanand was the mastermind behind the train blast and Hindu militants were also involved. In 2008 Malegaon blasts, according to the investigators, Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, the military intelligence officer, was the main culprit. — Amna Khaloon, by e-mail
India’s propaganda against Pakistan
