Pillai had said that Pakistan’s ISI had played a “very significant role” in the terror attacks on Mumbai, at which statement Islamabad took umbrage.
The Union government has told home secretary GK Pillai not to make any comments to the media. The gag order comes on the heels of the Indo-Pak foreign ministers’ conference held last week in Islamabad that apparently foundered over comments made by Pillai.
Pillai had said that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence had played a “very significant role” in the terror attacks on Mumbai, at which statement Islamabad took umbrage. Incidentally, national security advisor Shivshankar Menon on Tuesday reiterated Pillai’s declaration, saying a “clearer picture has emerged of the ecosystem that supports terrorism” in Pakistan, while minister of external affairs SM Krishna declared that statements by David Headley, accused of playing a key role in the attack, were in the public domain.
The home minister’s order merely states that DRS Chaudhary, an additional secretary in the ministry who holds the charge of Maoist affairs, would interact with the media “till further orders”, thus not naming Pillai.
As reported in DNA on July 19, the prime minister was upset with the timing of Pillai’s statement, which was made while the conference was under way, rather than what he said.
Ironically, now the timing of the gag order is threatening to raise a political storm. Some officials and political observers feel such an order at this point would only convey the impression that action was taken under pressure from across the border. “It should have been avoided at this juncture though possibly the order may not even be related to the talks,” a source said. Pakistan foreign minister SM Qureshi had said Pillai’s statement had had a negative impact on the talks.
Incidentally, the home secretary’s attempts to connect with the people through the media had evoked sharp reaction from various quarters, including the PM’s office. DNA was the first to report about the prime minister’s unhappiness at Pillai frequently going public on internal security-related issues.
Pillai is known to not mince words while expressing his views, particularly on the shortcomings in the internal security network. At the same time, he has been instrumental in giving a fillip to new schemes to strengthen central paramilitary forces and state police.
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