Confusion – thy name is Mukherjee
It doesn't happen often that one is forced to write and then re-write an editorial several times in the space of a few hours. But that is precisely what one is being forced to do courtesy Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's penchant for saying one thing one day and then completely another the next, only to revert yet again to what he had said the first time around.
It doesn't happen often that one is forced to write and then re-write an editorial several times in the space of a few hours. But that is precisely what one is being forced to do courtesy Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's penchant for saying one thing one day and then completely another the next, only to revert yet again to what he had said the first time around.
On Jan 17, a day after telling an Indian TV channel that the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks could be tried in Pakistan, the Indian foreign minister made a clarification to the media saying that there was 'no dilution' of India's stand that the culprits must be handed over by Pakistan to face 'Indian justice'. The clarification also contained within it yet another piece of advice to Islamabad – to undertake a 'full' and thorough investigation into the attacks. "We have never given up the demand that perpetrators of the terror acts should be handed over to India. There is no question of that we have given up that demand or we have climbed down," he said in the clarification.
The fact of the matter is that Jan 16's statement in the TV interview was indeed a rare moment of sanity as far as the ongoing crisis is concerned because it recognised the logic behind Islamabad's reasoning that any Pakistani involved in the attacks and found in Pakistan must be tried under Pakistani law and by a Pakistani court. The Jan 16 remark was indeed welcome, not least because it seemed to indicate hope that India's belligerent foreign minister had after all conceded on a most sensitive matter, which was proving to be a major cause of strain between already tense Pakistan-India relations. The international support Islamabad received, most notably from China and the UK, had obviously played a part in bringing about the change in the Indian tone – which regrettably lasted not even for 24 hours. It seems domestic pressures must have forced Shri Mukherjee to revert to his hawkish and war-mongering stance.
The fact of the matter is that Jan 16's statement in the TV interview was indeed a rare moment of sanity as far as the ongoing crisis is concerned because it recognised the logic behind Islamabad's reasoning that any Pakistani involved in the attacks and found in Pakistan must be tried under Pakistani law and by a Pakistani court. The Jan 16 remark was indeed welcome, not least because it seemed to indicate hope that India's belligerent foreign minister had after all conceded on a most sensitive matter, which was proving to be a major cause of strain between already tense Pakistan-India relations. The international support Islamabad received, most notably from China and the UK, had obviously played a part in bringing about the change in the Indian tone – which regrettably lasted not even for 24 hours. It seems domestic pressures must have forced Shri Mukherjee to revert to his hawkish and war-mongering stance.
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