Mumbai 26/11 should be the last Pakistani game: Home Minister P. Chidambaram, War on Terror, NewAgeIslam.com

War on Terror

Mumbai 26/11 should be the last Pakistani game: Home Minister P. Chidambaram

The Challenges Of Maximum Terror

Editorial in The Hindu, New Delhi, 26 Nov 2009

“I have been warning Pakistan,” Home Minister P. Chidambaram said in a speech early this month, “not to play games with us. The last game should be the Mumbai attacks. Stop it there…If terrorists from Pakistan try to carry out any attacks in India, they will not only be defeated but will be retaliated against.” Today India and the world will mourn the 166 children, women, and men who died in the carnage executed by a Lashkar-e-Taiba assault squad on November 26, 2008. It will honour the sacrifice of the 18 police and National Security Guard personnel and the dedicated staff of the hotels who gave their lives fighting the terrorists. Mr. Chidambaram’s strong words underline the challenge that stares us in the face. Unfortunately, India’s response to the challenges thrown up by Mumbai has been limited. For our cities and their citizens to be protected from future mass-casualty attacks as best as possible, a dispassionate assessment of two issues becomes imperative. First, how well has the country done in meeting the internal challenge of ensuring that its cities are better protected against large-scale terrorist attack than Mumbai was a year ago? Secondly, how much has been achieved in the diplomatic and political effort to ensure that Pakistan dismantles the infrastructure of jihadist groups operating against India from its soil? The answer to both questions, sadly, is less than heartening.

http://newageislam.com/mumbai-26/11-should-be-the-last-pakistani-game--home-minister-p.-chidambaram/war-on-terror/d/2154

Babri Masjid: Opportunity for Muslims, Spiritual Meditations, NewAgeIslam.com

Spiritual Meditations

Babri Masjid: Opportunity for Muslims

By Sultan Shahin, Editor, New Age Islam

Another option being discussed in the Press and possibly being considered by the government relaters to the recommendation of the high-powered Congress committee set up to suggest new and more credible sops to beguile the Muslim vote-bank. This is to club all the title deed cases pertaining to the Ayodhya dispute and present an omnibus case to the Supreme Court under Article 138(2) of the Constitution for expeditious disposal within a fixed timeframe. The Article binds the parties to accepting the final judgement.

The hope is that the militant Hindus would not be inclined to challenge such a decision in view of the Supreme Court ruling that what lies at the bottom of the dispute is the question of ownership of the disputed property. It is said these options are not mutually exclusive; negotiations can continue while the Supreme Court grapples with the property dispute.

Despite my almost incorrigible optimism, I find this situation quite perplexing. We have known the Muslim leaders for quite some time now. They have kept the Muslim masses embroiled in virtual non-issues for nearly half a century. I have been personally watching them closely since 1972 when I joined the Jamaat-e-Islami-run Radiance Viewsweekly as a trainee journalist.

http://newageislam.com/babri-masjid--opportunity-for-muslims/spiritual-meditations/d/1514