Mumbai attacks could complicate US South Asia Policy: Report

The Mumbai terrorist attack, being perceived as India's 9/11, could further complicate America's South Asia policy and the links of the attack go back to LeT, whose leaders have had patronage of the Pakistani establishment, the ISI in particular, a Congressional report has said.
    
"Fallout from the Mumbai terrorist attacks could further complicate US policy in South Asia," said the report prepared for the US lawmakers by the Congressional Research Service, a wing of the US Congress.
    
The report "Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai, India and Implications for US Interests," was prepared mid-December for US lawmakers, the 111th Congress in particular and was released on Wednesday.
    
"The Administration of president-elect Barack Obama may seek to increase US diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving conflict between these two countries," the Congressional report said.
    
The 19-page report, reiterates the basic US position that links of the Mumbai terror-attack go back to Lashkar-e-Taiba, whose leaders has had the patronage of the Pakistani establishment, the ISI in particular.
    
"Potential issues for the 111th Congress with regard to India include legislation that would foster greater US-India counter-terrorism relations," it said.
    
With regard to Pakistan, Congressional attention is likely to remain focused on programming and potential, further conditioning of US foreign assistance, including that related to security and counter-terrorism, it said.

Referring to the statements made by president-elect Barack Obama before the Mumbai attack, that reconciliation between India and Pakistan would be a "key foreign policy goal" of his administration, the Congressional report said: "Renewed tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad could easily derail such a tack while simultaneously intensifying pressure on US government to facilitate regional conflict resolution."
    
In seeking to revamp US South Asia policy, Obama and his advisors may face a key central question: Are conflictual relations between the region's two largest states primarily an India-Pakistan problem or are they mainly a Pakistan problem alone, it said.
    
The Congressional report has cautioned the incoming Obama Administration that any high-visibility US government focus on the Kashmir issue specifically would likely evoke Indian resistance.
    
"It also would risk fueling Pakistani expectations of a future settlement favouring Pakistan, thus in turn providing a motive for Islamabad to sustain pressure by ramping up support for Kashmiri separatists," it said.
    
As for Pakistan, the report says the Mumbai attacks have brought sharp attention to the ongoing problem of Islamic terrorism that emanates from this country.
    
Pakistani president Zardari faces the difficult task of avoiding open conflict with India while at the same time not alienating Pakistan's powerful military and intelligence services, it observed.