‘Onus on Pak to act against terrorists’

India has urged Pakistan not to be selective in its approach to terrorism and take action against those responsible for the Mumbai carnage last year.

The FBI team investigating Coleman will be travelling to Pakistan to follow up on the leads provided during interrogation and unravel the conspiracy behind the plots, a statement by the foreign office said. “The onus is on Pakistan to act with unalloyed determination against terrorism, its leadership and ideologues so as to eliminate the space these elements enjoy in Pakistan, and to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism in its territory.”

India is hoping Headley’s revelations would increase US pressure on Pakistan to act against the Mumbai plotters. But analysts are not so hopeful. “No doubt there will be additional pressure on Islamabad, but there is a limit to the pressure that even a powerful country like the US can exert on the fractured Pakistani establishment. It is one more nail in the coffin for Islamabad, but Pakistan is good at resisting this,” said analyst Ajai Sahani.
He sees little hope of a change in the Pakistan establishment.

Besides, Washington needs Pakistan’s help for Obama’s Af-Pak strategy to succeed.

There is no way the US can afford to dictate terms to Pakistan, because it knows that the alternative to the military-civilian set up in Islamabad would be a Taliban and Qaeda-backed jihadi regime.