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Chidambaram visiting U.S. to mount diplomatic offensive

NEW DELHI: India will launch a diplomatic offensive next week to convince the world of Pakistani complicity in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Home Minister P. Chidambaram will travel to Washington on Thursday and hand over “dossiers” on the involvement of elements from Pakistan to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Early next week, top Foreign Office officials are expected to release details of the links between the Mumbai attackers and their Pakistan-based handlers, said authoritative government sources. Simultaneously, a high level meeting will assess security preparedness to thwart any mischief from the other side.

Authoritative sources pointed out that the Indian response to the Mumbai terror attacks was predicated on a differentiated approach to the various prominent actors in Pakistan.

There is evidence to prove that the Lashkar-e-Taiba was the architect of the attacks and New Delhi is reluctant to put up with Islamabad taking time to concede the involvement of Zarrar Shah, who is said to be in Pakistani custody.

At the same time, India recognises that there is a genuine desire on the part of the elected government in Pakistan to ensure that its spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, is delinked from activities of the jihadi groups. But it is not prepared to believe claims that the ISI has completely cut its ties with outfits, such as the Lashkar, which it helped to rear.

India is also refashioning its internal security apparatus. In the U.S., Mr. Chidambaram will visit the National Centre for Counter-Terrorism.

India has modelled its recently revamped Multi Agency Centre (MAC) on the lines of the U.S. body. Mr. Chidambaram will interact with its officials to identify the essentials that ensure seamless gathering and sharing of intelligence.

On Saturday, the outgoing U.S. Ambassador to India, David Mulford, called on Mr. Chidambaram to finalise the logistics for his visit.

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